von Antonio Vallejo am 15.12.2020 - 22:49 Uhr | melden
I never lived with Sigfried in the same focolare community, but I knew him for many years while living in the United States. I do remember going on vacation with Sigfried on a few occasions, and certainly spending time with him on many other occasions like retreats, visiting the focolare where he was, and other.
The first thought that comes to my mind when I think of Sigfried is that I was always happy to see him and spend time with him. I always look forward to spending time with Sigfried. I knew I would enjoy being with him. I knew Fonte would welcome me, listen to me, be interested in my life. I knew he would share with me his joy, his life, his experiences.
The second thought in my mind has to do with JOY. I think of Sigfried and I imagine him happy and sharing with everyone around him his joy. I always felt loved and happy around Sigfrid.
The third thought is... Sigfrid would not simply have breakfast but... celebrate it! Lets celebrate breakfast, was his invitation. And again, a simple joyful pleasure.
I mentioned going on vacation with him a few times. One was in Florida. Two moments of that. One was a nice conversation with him walking around the house where we were staying. Sigfried told me about the various jobs he had had, his inventions. He loved his work as an engineer. The second moment on that vacation was at Disney World, riding the "Space Mountain". There was a bid sign at the entrance of the ride saying that enyone wiht heart conditions was discouraged to go on the ride... well, no way to stop Sigfrid. He loved it as a child.
One last memory. A few years ago Fonte came on vacation to Mariapolis Luminosa for a month. I knew that before coming he was a bit nervous about not being able to switch back to English after having been in Germany for quite a few years. He was very happy though to realize that he was still fluent in English. There was only a moment in the day when German came out without Fonte realizing it. It was in the morning, coming down from his bedroom to the kitchen to celebrate breakfast, he would start the day speaking German to whoever was in the kitchen. But then... a good laugh and ready to begin a new day to the fullest.
Thank you Sigfried! Thank you for sharing so generously your love of God and joy.
