As of today, we have had 2393 visitors to our museum in 2024 (at least that is how many have signed the guest book). Where are all of these people from? If you said Missouri and Illinois, you would be right more often than not; however, we have had visitors from 35 different states this year! As you can see, people come from all over.

If you are from one of the states not highlighted or you have visitors from one of those states, be sure to come by so we can fill up the map by the end of the year!

If you said our visitors only come from the United States, though, you would be incorrect. They have also come from 8 other countries so far this year. We’ve had visitors from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Puerto Rico, Nigeria, and Australia.

Our most recent international visitors came from Brazil.

Dr. Vilson Scholz (the man in the middle) is a visiting professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, from Sao Leopoldo, Brazil. The other gentlemen are students from Concordia Seminary, Sao Leopoldo here visiting Dr. Scholz.

I was not here at the time, but I understand that the name Rev. Adolph Vogel came up, and they knew it well. Rev. Vogel’s story can be found here , but the Cliff Notes version is that he was raised in Frohna, became a pastor, was sent to Brazil as a missionary and helped found the seminary there, and then came back and was pastor at Trinity, Altenburg for 35 years.

I think it is pretty incredible how one (not so) small museum can bring in so many people from so many places all over the globe. And, more often than not, we can find some connection with between those who walk through our doors and those whose memory is preserved inside our doors. I can’t help but thank and praise God for the unity we have with all Christians throughout the world!

Speaking of praising God, if singing is your thing, be sure to join us Sunday, October 27th at 2:00 pm for our Reformation Hymn Sing featuring Tyson Wunderlich playing the Wittenberg Organ here in the “Big School”.

Finally, you only have two more weeks to come see “Wittenberg, Tower Rock & the Mississippi River” before it gets taken down to make way for the Christmas trees.