Dresden Mission: Connect and Reflect

Matt Jensen grew up hoping to serve a mission to Germany, the same as his father and grandfather had. Initially called to serve in the Germany Hamburg Mission, he details what it was like in the Hamburg mission, including crossing over the inner German border on the train to and from West Berlin for transfers and zone conferences. He also shares details of what it was like to be transferred into the German Democratic Rebuplic Dresden Mission during the summer of 1989 and the many experiences of his year of missionary service in the Dresden Mission.To see photos Matt has shared, click here If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

In today's interview, Stephen discusses the 2nd half of his mission including thoughts about the change in teaching/proselyting after the currency changeover, his time in Dresden, and his final months in the mission. He also shares how the mission influenced his career, his continued German language and culture study, the acquisition of his Trabi, and other interesting and memorable mission experiences. Click here for more photos, videos (including the MDR story about his Trabi)  and other interesting items. If interested in reading Stephen's fascinating Master's Thesis entitled: "Spit-Shined Shoes, Clear Decisions, and West German Mission Horror Stories: A Study of the Emergence and Function of the Missionary Folklore of the Dresden Mission during 1990," (including transcripts of 1995 interviews with Jason, Kap, Jeff Packer, and others) please message me on Facebook. If interested in reading a writeup (with awesome photos) of Stephen's acquisition, repair and restoration of his Trabi, please message me on Facebook. If you would like a copy of the roster of Mozambique converts in the DDR, please message me on Facebook If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Thank you for listening to the first half of our interview with Stephen Van Orden. Stephen has a vivid recollection of key moments prior to and during his mission, and a single interview was not enough time to capture it. Today’s interview covers the time prior to his mission and up to the period that the mission took on West Berlin, with the difficulties that came with it. He speaks with candor, a deep appreciation for the historical events of the time, and a perspective I am sure will be appreciated by all who served during that time. Be sure to click here for photos he has shared. Part 2 of this interview will be available in the next week or two, including more photos and other items of interest. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

As a young man growing up playing basketball and enjoying the outdoor offerings of western Washington state, he felt drawn to praying for the opening of East Germany and the desire to serve a mission there. He received a call to the Dresden Mission and arrived in July, 1991, coincidental to the changeover of mission presidents from President Paul to President Meiser. Listen as Rick shares the ups and downs of his mission experiences with wit and candor.  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

A convert to the Church, Steve describes what it was like to gain gospel knowledge and testimony while serving in one of the most historic times for the Church and for East Germany. For photos and other interesting items that Steve has shared, click here. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Thank you to Jeff Lindgren and the Koschnickes for recording this interview. The interview is in German with an English transcript (translation and transcription courtesy of Jeff Lindgren). Listen to their lovely native Saechsisch language as they tell their story of growing up Mormonen in The German Democratic Republic, their recollections of the formation of stakes, the building of the Freiberg Temple, interactions with members from other Warsaw Pact nations, run-ins with the Stasi, discoveries from their own Stasi Files, life during and after Die Wende, and much more.For photos from their life in East Germany click here.See photos they shared from their life before Die Wende here. The book In Harm's Way, East German Latter-Day Saints, is referenced in the transcript and has more information about members of the Church fleeing East Prussia and other areas in the East the Germans fled after World War II.Click here for information about the "Russentod" device that the East Germans used to counter Soviet signal-blocking of West German TV and radio transmissions.  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

As a 4th grader, Jason Kap had a memorable impression about the future of East Germany. Although raised a member of the Church, through various conflicts he became agnostic toward God as a teenager. Through the influence of college friends and his own personal desire to know if God were real, he grew to gain a testimony of God and the need to serve a mission.  As one of the first to receive an original mission call to the German Democratic Republic Dresden Mission, the youthful spiritual impressions he had of the future of East Germany came to life. You can seen photos Jason has shared here: If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Doug Neal grew up in a Catholic family that joined the church when he was 5 years old.  His parents divorced when he was 13. He went out on his own at age 16, drifted away from the Church and established a successful career in the computer industry by his early twenties.  After renewed conversion and a period of spiritual struggle, he acted on the prompting to serve a mission. You can see photos Doug has shared from his mission here: If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Katie Berghammer was raised in Wisconsin as the first member of her German-heritage family to be born in the United States. She grew up in the Methodist Church, but found herself with more questions than they had answers.  Her search for answers led her to discover an ad for the Book of Mormon in a most unexpected place. The rest is history. She the many photos she has shared here:  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Rich Haglund first visited the inner German border as a 5th grader while living with his family for a year in West Germany. He arrived in the mission in July 1991 in the first  MTC missionary group to arrive in the recently split Dresden mission under newly called President Meiser. See the many great photos Rich has shared from his mission here If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Lisa Slade grew up in Utah, longing and praying for the gospel to be taught in East Germany. After completing college and beginning her career, she felt drawn to serve a mission. Little did she know she would be one of the last to receive a mission call to the GDR Dresden Mission before unification.  Lisa has shared many great photos from her service that you will want to see here If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Today we finish our conversation with Dale Moss. Listen as he shares observations of East Germany before and after the fall of the Wall, navigating the streets of Leipzig from the Church to the Bahnhof during a Monday Demonstration in October, 1989, and other fun and interesting stories. Dale also shares with us his feelings about the mission and the happenings in his life after returning home.If you haven't yet, check out Dale's mission photos here. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Kelly grew up with a background in classical music, including knowledge of much of the German culture and experience with the German language. He received his call to the Dresden Mission on the day of German unification, October 3, 1990.See photos Kelly has shared from his missionary service here.You can read about Kelly's work and contributions to the field of classical music here. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Ken Brady grew up in a bilingual, Spanish-English household. He also grew up with a fascination with East Germany and a desire to serve a mission there. His mission call to Zurich Switzerland, Spanish-speaking threw him and his family for a loop. More unexpected calls awaited, starting soon after arriving in the MTC.See photos Ken has shared with us here.Hear the interview Ken gave at the Cold War Conversations podcast about his mission here. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Dale has many great stories, in fact he has more than we could fit into one session. So check back in a few weeks for part II of Dale's interview.After one year of studies and football at BYU, Dale Moss was called to the Germany Munich Mission. After 5 months of service there, and feeling a little like something was missing from his service,  he was notified of a pending transfer to the new GDR mission. After over 3 months of waiting and wondering, he was transferred into the mission in May of 1989 to become one of the first two Western missionaries to return to Annaberg-Buchholz after 50 years. See photos Dale has shared here:  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Laura Sumsion grew up with an interest in Germany and the German language.  In 1987 she was a college student living in West Germany on a summer internship. While there she had the opportunity to travel across the border into the GDR and visit  East Berlin with her student group. Later that summer she was able to visit other GDR cities with her host family, including Dresden. Two and a half years after that, she returned to the GDR as one of the first sister missionaries to serve in the Dresden and East Berlin wards. See photos Laura has shared here.Returned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.The book, Behind the Iron Curtain: Recollections of Latter-Day Saints in East Germany 1945-1989, published by Elder and Sister Davis can be found here. If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

 Always expecting to serve a Spanish language mission, Jeff Lindgren took Spanish throughout high school. He received his call to the Germany Dresden Mission in the summer of 1991. In addition to valuable experiences in the mission, Jeff shares with us his family history ties to Dresden in addition to some little-known facts about the struggles of German members in Saxony in the immediate aftermath of World War II. See photos from his mission and photos from his Dresden ancestors here. Read about the LDS post-World War II refugee camp near Schwarzenberg here. Read about efforts of Church members during the immediate WWII aftermath to preserve family history records salvaged from East Prussia and other abandoned German-speaking territories here.  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

While waiting for his mission call, Jeff Packer watched on TV from the basement of Deseret Towers as the Berlin Wall opened on the night of November 9, 1989, and hoped for the chance to go to the East. 2 days later he received a call to Zurich Switzerland.  While in the MTC he and his MTC district were reassigned to the GDR Dresden Mission.  More great surprises awaited him in the GDR. See photos that he shared here:  If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Will Powley was transferred with 7 others and President Wolfgang Paul into the GDR at the end of March, 1989, becoming one of the first Western missionaries into the country in 50 years. Hear what it was like to be one of the first to know that an East German mission was being reopened, the drive across the border, and the unforgettable people and memories that awaited them upon arrival. See photos here, and check back later as more photos are added! If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.

Today we hear about Jan-Peter (JP) Mueller's missionary service in the Dresden Mission. A native of West Germany, he grew up near Frankfurt in a convert family, the second son of a German father and French mother.  While waiting for his mission call in November 1989, the Berlin Wall opened.  A few short months later, he had the unique experience of serving just a few hundred miles from where he grew up, in a land he thought would always be behind the Iron Curtain.See photos here: If you are a returned missionary from the Germany Dresden Mission and wish to be interviewed for this project, please contact me at Dresden Mission Connect and Reflect Podcast on Facebook. Update your contact information, find old friends and companions, and much more on the Dresden/Leipzig mission alumni page at Treffpunkt Deutschland Mission Dresden/LeipzigReturned Dresden missionaries, click here for more information about the Church History Library and information about sharing your documents, photos, or oral histories from your service in the Dresden Mission. The Church’s policy on public access to donated personal history items can be read here. To communicate to someone directly about donating your mission materials, contact James Miller: jamiller@churchofjesuschrist.org.