Skip to main content

Going to Church in Bitburg

Image
By
I was really happy when the only flight to Frankfurt-Hahn airport from Kerry Airport left on a Friday and returned on a Monday, because that meant we could visit our old ward in Bitburg!  As much as the first three years of my life there with a living hell (I won't even deign to type the name of the person who tortured me so), I still believe that Bitburg ward was the best ward I have ever lived in, and it was all because of the people.

There's something really wonderful about a military ward; same with the military schools.  Everyone understands that you don't have much time together, so no one wastes time getting to know each other.  You just dive in and form friendships as quickly as you can, because either you will be leaving within a couple of years, or your friends will be leaving even sooner.  Maybe that's the reason our dearest friends have come from that ward.

We walked in and it felt like nothing had changed.  In fact, the only things that have changed are the lights in the chapel, and the bathrooms (thank goodness!). The people still seemed just as friendly and accepting as when we were there, and no joke, I could imagine so many of my friends serving in their old callings and appearing just around the corner.  I wish I had a time machine and could go back to that happy time, and I wouldn't mind having my kids small again.  And in a stroke of luck, it was ward conference, so the talks and lessons were really terrific.  Visiting the ward and the building just made me homesick for living there again.

Ethan texted me and asked if the pews were the same as they used to be: "the thin brown pads with the yellow netting underneath."  Yep, Cheese, nothing has changed <3







Comments

  1. Sarah MoranMarch 5, 2017 at 4:27 PM

    Thinking of the wonderful times we had in Bitburg Ward always makes me smile. I'm glad you got to go back!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The FIRST of the Best Days of My Life

By
I'm always amazed when people can answer the question, "What was the best day of your life?"  For me, I've never had a specific answer.  The typical response of "my wedding day" doesn't work for me, because in all honesty, our wedding day was pretty sad with no family in attendance.  The second most popular answer of "the day my child was born" only conjures up feelings of pain, misery and exhaustion for me.  Really, up to this point, the best day of my life is anytime my family is together, and we are laughing, and talking, and ... being together.  I guess if I could string all of those moments into one solitary day, that would be the best day of my life. Everything changed though on Tuesday, October 27, 2015.  In fact, I feel quite relieved now, knowing that I can answer the proverbial question successfully and succinctly, for on that day, Anneliese Margaret Kennedy joined our family, and there has never been a better day in my life. Po...
7 comments
Read more

SURPRISE!!

By
When the pizza guy came to the door last night, here's what John saw: It took a few seconds for John to process who the pizza delivery man was, but when he did, he was incredibly happy (and couldn't stop saying "heeeeyyyyy....".  It was Jared Moran, John's best friend. And me, I just knelt down, right then and there, and began repenting of all the lies that I have told over the last four months, hiding this most amazing surprise :-)  I told Sarah the other day that I was glad to see the light at the end of the falsehood tunnel, because if I kept this up much longer, I was destined to end up in liars' hell... Jared ran the Air Force marathon with John last year.  It was his first marathon, and from what he told us, his last.  However, he called in June and said he was coming again, but I was supposed to keep it a surprise from John.  I'm not sure what changed his mind, but we sure are glad he did.  John hates runnings marathons alone, and ther...
4 comments
Read more

Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By
I'm writing this, not as a complaint, but as a plea.  If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. My children are talented.  In fact, every child that I have ever met is talented in some way.  That's the fun thing about meeting kids--discovering those hidden talents. Some of the talents my children possess are very public--you guessed it...music.  Some aren't so public--kindness and generosity. My kids are frequently judged by other children because of their musical talents.  Other kids see them as "snobs" because they play their instruments well and because they are willing to share those talents whenever asked. My kids never play with arrogance.  They recognize that they are better at music than most kids their age, but they never, ever show it.  In fact, they are very generous with compliments towards other kids and their efforts with music.  I have raised them to appreciate anyone who tries to do anything with music--it's ...
9 comments
Read more