As part of an assignment to the Europe Central Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sister Kristin M. Yee, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, met with members, young adults, missionaries and friends of the Church in Germany, Austria, Cyprus and Spain.
There, she said she expected to remember the faces more than the places — “beautiful faces of great faith.”
Her meetings from Aug. 28 through Sept. 7 included instruction for Relief Society, Young Women and Primary leaders, and devotionals for Relief Society sisters and young women, missionaries, temple workers and other members, reported the Church’s Europe Newsroom.
While speaking in Vienna, Austria, Sister Yee noted that some of her ancestors came from that part of the world. She said returning as their descendant made it a privilege to stand on the same continent where they had once walked.
Members of the Europe Central Area presidency — Elder Jack N. Gerard, president; Elder James W. McConkie III; and Elder Michael Cziesla, all General Authority Seventies — and their wives accompanied Sister Yee for different parts of the assignment.
Temple covenants and worship
Sister Yee invited women to receive the blessings of being endowed in the temple. Through their own endowments, Latter-day Saints make promises with God and receive access to His priesthood power and blessings as they keep those promises, she said. Those covenant blessings are intended for every woman, not only for those preparing for missionary service or marriage.
When Sister Yee spoke to temple workers from the Madrid Spain Temple, she invited them to receive each person with patience and love.
“Our job is to keep our arms wide open, for we know not when people will return or what healing they may need from the Savior,” she said.
Jorge Ivan Martinez Dominguez told Europe Newsroom that Sister Yee’s message gave new urgency to the purpose he finds in temple service. He said helping those who come to worship brings him closer to God and gives him an opportunity to develop “more attributes like Christ.”
Sister Yee, who is an artist, also spoke throughout her ministry about a person’s unfinished canvas, explaining how every stroke requires faith in the Savior because the final outcome is not yet visible.
“The painting isn’t finished yet,” she said, “but it’ll get there … with His help.”
Seeing the one
At a leadership training in Offenbach, Germany, Sister Yee taught about lifelong discipleship in Jesus Christ and helping people see the Savior. She shared experiences of ministering to the one.
“Somebody’s hoping to be seen. Somebody’s hoping for His love,” she said, adding that sincere care does not need to be dramatic. “The hardest part may be just pausing. It doesn’t have to be profound; it just needs to be sincere.”
Saria Fleege, a children’s music leader in Frankfurt, Germany, said Sister Yee’s words encouraged her to be more open to the Spirit. “For me, it means seeing other people as Christ sees them and trying to do that.”
And Coraline Giraud-Carrier, a Relief Society president in Frankfurt, said, “The best way to minister to our sisters and brothers is to do it the same, one by one.”
In Cyprus, Sister Yee met Elder Samuel Gür, a missionary from Preston, England, who told her that her October 2024 general conference message, “The Joy of Our Redemption,” had helped begin his conversion to the Lord and was one of the main reasons he chose to serve a mission. He said meeting Sister Yee felt like “a huge tender mercy and a huge blessing from the Lord.”
Sister Yee said this experience of seeing and blessing “the one” was part of the reason she was sent to Cyprus, even though it doesn’t have a large number of Church members. “When we strengthen one person deeply in the Lord, in His way, that blesses the whole in a powerful way that nothing else can,” she said.
Service and humanitarian efforts in Austria
In Vienna, Sister Yee visited a Caritas Austria home to learn about their work and the needs of the women and children they serve. Caritas Austria is a Catholic social-service organization that provides a dignified place for women and children facing difficult circumstances. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped furnish the home last year.
Sister Yee met with Caritas Austria representatives and the home’s director and said it was a blessing to work with like-minded, like-hearted people doing good.
“When organizations or people come together, you find that one plus one equals three or four,” she said.
In connection with the visit, women from wards in and around Vienna took part in a service project for three Caritas shelters. They assembled hygiene kits and encouragement packages for 80 women and 75 children living in the facilities.
