Singles Conference in Brasov

We had an exciting opportunity to assist the District President in putting on a Singles Conference for all the members over 30yrs. old.  I worked with a wonderful couple in doing the food for 3 days.  This is Elder and Sora McFabulous (McFadden) from St. George, Utah.

We had a good turn out, with 40 members coming from around the country.  They had introductions and games and great food and a dance.  It was wonderful to meet some of these members who travelled so far to be here.

 

Romanians have a favourite thing they like to do.  Right after Sacrament Meeting they love to take a picture of everyone that's there.  It's kinda fun.  You won't find me in the pictures because I have  6 cameras strapped to my arm taking all their photos

It was a great event where they attended classes and shared their testimonies and made friendships.  It was fun to be a part of it.  This is one of my friends from Iasi.

 

You won't find Elder Heninger there either.  He had to get in the car and travel 8 hours to Oradea where he participated in District Training and take care of Mission Business.  We had to split up and cover all the bases that weekend.  His work was important training on welfare, home teaching/visiting teaching, to Branch Presidents. 

It was great to see many people make connections.  I found my companion again and re-connected.

We also have the privilege to teach the temple preparation class to a couple in our branch.  Going to the temple is a great challenge here.  Romania is part of the European Union but Ukraine is not.  Our temple district is Kyiv Ukraine which requires a passport to attend.  Most Romanians do not have a passport and the cost is prohibitive.  Going to Germany is longer and more expensive but requires no passport.  So these are the things that must be taken into consideration.

This is our beautiful couple who are preparing to attend the temple.  Such faithful great people.

Very Exciting

We had a wonderful experience attending this baptism in our branch.  The shorter man was the one getting baptised and these two great missionaries did a super job teaching him.

We attended one of his discussions and met his two children.  It is wonderful to see how the gospel brings hope into peoples lives.

I found this flag that I thought was interesting.  At the close of communism the people simply cut the communist symbols out of the middle of the flag and they continue to use them.

We went to Galati where we did training and went to church.  I got a few pictures of this pretty city on the Danube River.

We are excited about teaching the temple preparation class and we are also beginning to teach Advanced English Leadership course.  This should be good.  The weather has cooled abit and that is good also.  Elder Heninger has mastered making banana bread and everyone in the branch loves it.

We are busy trying to make a difference and we have found that sadly many people are just not interested in our wonderful message. This does not discourage us, we have been called and set apart and continue to do our part to spread the gospel to all the world.  Those who will listen live with more light and peace and love in their lives and they are the pioneers of Romania.  I have come to love the members and appreciate their great sacrifices to move the church forward,

I love these people!!  They are my dear friends.

Open House

We had a wonderful Open House for the community of Ploiesti.  The sister missionaries organized it and put the program together.  The branch President knew a few of the TV stations and they were there.  Our Mission President and his wife spoke as well as others.  It was a fantastic event with about 150 people in attendance.

Pres. Hill

District Pres. Doru

This was a great musical number from members and missionaries.  Very special !!

Here's some of our super star missionaries

This event was really wonderful and many people asked to know more about the church

Here's a picture of our district having lunch together on P-day.  What a thrill to be able to associate with such fine missionaries.

I'm grateful for my companion-he takes good care of me

We send our love to our family and friends and hope the gospel light shines bright in your life.

Special Permission

We have had the coolest things happening in our mission. 
As you know, you must have a Stake to have a Patriarch, and the blessings are given in their native tongue.  Romania does not have a stake yet But........

There are two previous Patriarch's serving as senior missionaries right now in Romania and Moldova.  Our mission President contacted President Boyd Packer and received special permission to activate these Brethren to act as Patriarch's for the remainder of their missions.  One in Romania and the other in Moldova.

The blessings will be given in English so the individual must be able to speak and understand enough English to understand the blessing. What an exciting thing !!There are many people who do speak English and will be able to take advantage of this privilege. Thank you Elder Marcov and Elder Kitchen.

This is the only picture I could find. From the left side Elder Heninger is next to Pres. Hill, then Elder Marcov and next to him is Elder Kitchen. 
These are exciting times in eastern Europe.  My dear friend sent me the news article that stated the change in our church's status in Italy.  They are fully recognised as a church now and that is huge.  We hope Romania will have this same blessing soon.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/54522757-180/church-lds-italian-homer.html.csp

I thought you would enjoy seeing the fields of sunflowers, they are everywhere in the countryside

.

You can't help but smile when you see fields of sunflowers.

Humanitarian Project

This past week was a big one for Elder Heninger, he worked 4 days of hard labour--of course I mean physical labour.  He worked with  a team of men from England who were volunteers and of course our own Elder and Sora Wolsey who is head of all Humanitarian work in Romania.  They built a drying shed to dry clothes year round at a hospital in Colonia.  The last one they had collapsed in the harsh winter last year, as you can see from the pictures that won't happen again.  They built this one to last.

Our missionaries were a great help and they worked really hard.

 This is the picture of all the super volunteers. These people are wonderful people who have come every year for 16 years to improve the condition of the hospital. 

All finished and Fabulous !!!!

We travelled across Romania last weekend to the very west side of the country to Oradea.  This area has a huge Hungarian influence and it showed in many of their buildings in Centru.  It was great to be able to visit another city and meet the district president and support and love him.

We love all the senior couples that we work with.  They all have so much to offer and we learn so much from them.

Here's
 Elder Heninger after eating a little lunch at the outdoor restaurant in Oradea.  He's always this happy after he eats.

I wanted to get some pictures of the beautiful country side, but some of the shots are blurry.  I love there hay stacks.

This is taken at 60 km.--I'm lucky I got it all.
On our way back we stopped in Sibiu, for training and to go to church.  It was wonderful testimony meeting and even though the numbers are small, the spirit of the Lord is present.  It is also a lovely city.

It is easy to see the buildings that have been restored and those that have not. 
Here are some amazing missionaries!!

We feel so blessed to be able to see so much of this country.  We love the people and the gospel.

Romanian Field Report

I enjoy the beautiful architecture of the buildings.  The designs are nothing like I have seen before.  This building is in Sibiu

We had a Young Women's activity and tied a baby quilt for a lady in our branch.  It was really fun and the first time the girls had done that.  I'm am serving as a councilor in YW now and really enjoying that.
We have been doing alot of travelling and meeting with different branches.  We are so happy about the progress we have seen in our old city of Iasi.  We still stay in touch with them and visit when they need
branch business done from the Mission Presidency. It's so exciting to see changes come with time.

This was the home of a very famous Romanian, George Enescu.  He was well know for composing music and is considered to be one the most beautiful buildings in Bucharest. 

We attended zone conference this last week.  It was our first one and we really enjoyed it.  The Elders and Sisters who serve here are amazing missionaries.  We are working hard to accomplish our goal of having 4 articles published in the paper.  We have had 2 already which is wonderful-it is thrilling to see pictures and stories of our missionaries in the local paper.

Here's a couple of our super star missionaries !

The driving is going good.  Beware of cement blocks in random places.  Except for one very poor dirt road our GPS has not failed us.

This detour took awhile to correct.

The weather is getting very warm but the humidity is out of control.  The hot muggy feeling is a challenge but we are happy we don't live in the extreme heat of Bucharest.  I'm still reading my Book of Mormon in Romanian I'm in Jacob chapter 6.
Thats the field report for today.  The Church is True and God is ever mindful of us.