The Europe Area Presidency

We have the most wonderful Area Presidency, who administer all Church affairs in the Europe Area. They are very bright, talented, and loving men who have strong testimonies of our Savior and of the growth of the Church in Europe. They are an inspiration to all of us.

Elder Kopischke, from France, is our European Area President:

His counselors are Elder Teixeira from Portugal:

And Elder Caussé from France:

This video shows our Area Presidency and their responsibilities and service in Europe:

http://www.lds.org.uk/about-the-church/information-videos/europe-area-presidency/

It has been such a pleasure to edit reports and histories for Elder Kopischke and to write the Cape Verde Video for Elder Teixeira. In meeting with Elder Teixeira, he told me this story that I included in the video script:

“In 1998 when I set up the arrangements for our prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley’s visit to Cape Verde, I realized that the boat to Praia came only once a week. Many members arrived several days early and many left several days later. The cost was about half a month’s income. When I arrived a half hour before the meeting was to begin, I saw 780 members, including an entire choir of children, sitting reverently in their chairs, dressed in their Sunday best, awaiting the arrival of their prophet. I took one look at these faithful saints and sat down and cried.”

Bob and I enjoyed a spiritual evening with the Teixeiras where we shared our testimonies.

We were delighted to hear Elder Caussé speak at our last Senior Missionary Fireside. It was An Evening of Music in which his daughters played the violin and cello, and he played the piano. Both his beautiful wife and he spoke, and their testimonies were very tender and uplifting. Here is a note from Elder Caussé’s message:

He opened with a beautiful piano rendition of “I'll go where You Want Me to Go”. Then he shared his personal experience in being called as an Area Seventy. He said that four years ago, Elder Oaks called and asked when he could be available for an in depth interview on a video conference call.

He explained: “I had a passion for my work, where I was the managing director. We had five children and a beautiful home near Paris, France. I had just gotten my dream--my grand piano and here was an Apostle of the Lord asking me when I would be ready to leave. It was a long January of pondering and praying. We knew it was now for us. We gathered our family together. We gave blessings to our children, and we received blessings. There was never a question about saying yes, because of our temple covenants. We are always indebted to the lord. The more we give, the more we receive.”


These are great men with whom we have the opportunity to associate. It is fitting that they are  from different cultures and countries, as that is the hallmark of living in Frankfurt, a city of great diversity. They have a strong testimony of Europe's "second gathering." There are many people coming into the European countries from all around the world and many are coming into the Church. The missionaries are learning to speak Chinese, Russian, Bosnian, as well as European languages. The Area Presidency's goal is for each member to invite and bring one new person into the Church. 


Last weekend, we enjoyed a wonderful Conference broadcast from Salt Lake City. We separated into three rooms at the Church to accommodate three different languages: German, English, and Spanish. We often have different languages spoken in our meetings, such as in prayers and songs. The messages were very uplifting. 


Bob and I enjoyed speaking at our last Zone Conference and attended the Temple last Friday evening.