Road Trip!

Last month our mission president's wife asked us to plan a senior couples conference for the second weekend in October.  We were incouraged to develop a plan that would include some time for socializing and site seeing as well as time for instruction.  We were thrilled to accept that assignment and got right to work picking out the place and planning what our activities would be.  There are nine couples in the Romania Moldova Mission including President and Sora Hill.  We chose the town of Brasov since it is centrally located and the most visited tourist destination in Romania. However, after doing some research online for hotels, restaurants, etc, I became so frustrated that Brent finally said, "tomorrow is P-day and we don't have anything scheduled until Tuesday night, let's rent a car and go check this place out."  So we did.  As he slid behind the wheel of our standard shift Dacia, you could tell that Brent was glad to be driving again for the first time in over 4 months.  By the end of the trip I was glad we don't have a car here!  But that's another story.

This is the city of Brasov.

We drove about 3 hours through the mountains.  It was so beautiful and we realized how much we missed our Colorado mountains.  Brasov is in the Transylvania area for you Dracula fans.  It is close to where Bran Castle is located.  The old section of Brasof shown above is several hundred years old and has often been used in movie sets.  When we go back in October, fall colors should be at their peak.

This is the Hotel Cubix where we will be staying for the conference.  The Chapel where we will have our meetings is visable next door on the right.  Very convenient. 

The central square in old town Brasov.

More Old Town Brasov with my companion.

Peles Castle

This is the castle we will be visiting.  It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.

Resort in Poiana Brasov

Just 20 minutes out of Brasov is a beautiful little ski resort town that we will visit and tour.  There is a little old church and some lovely resorts as well as little shops where we can spend our lei (lots of lei!).







We sat on a bench in a little open field and watched the grass being harvested with a two-hand cythe (picture the grim reaper) and pitchforks.  There were no fences and at one point the cows you see behind the horse cart were wandering through the tourists.

We returned home an alternate route which was definitely the road less traveled.  It was only us and hundreds of trucks on a mountain road of hairpin turns.  When we got to the bottom it only took Brent a few minutes to unhook my white knuckles from the dashboard and pull my right foot out of the floor where I "braked" all the way down. He loved the drive! (though he wished we had been in the MINI)



District YSA Activity

Our YSA Center hosted a district activity with YSAs coming from 5 different cities.  Because they must travel long distances using trains, buses and the metro system to get here it's not easy to get these young people together very often.  The day started with breakfast followed by Institute class.  Then there was a break to play games while we set up lunch.

We set up a potato bar and for most of them it was the first time they had seen anything like it.  They seemed to enjoy it but we found it interesting that they put all the ingredients on their plate separately.



After lunch they played games and worked on the service project.  Then there was a fireside with our District President, Brother Doru, speaking to them about temple marriage and families.  Because they had so far to travel home the dance started at 5:30 and ended about 8:30pm.  They had a good time listening to the music and playing with the balloons.

The service project was writing letters to the missionaries that are serving from Romania and Moldova..  There are 12 serving at the present time with about 4 more who have either received their call or are waiting for it.



We felt like the event was a success with so many young people coming to the Center and enjoying each other's company.  There were 8 non members that came which was a bonus.  Most of them came to Church the next day and some are meeting with the missionaries.  We loved seeing our Center full of young people.

Our YSA committee members did an outstanding job of planning, organizing, and carrying out this wonderful activity.  It's not easy when everyone lives so far away.

Cleaner Shrimp



We love the missionaries that serve here and they perform a very important service for us.  Have you seen the episode on Animal Planet where Jeff Corwin is sitting on a dock wearing a tuxedo and eats a huge meal?  Then he strips off the tuxedo and is wearing a wet suit.  He puts on diving gear and drops into the water.  He goes to the bottom and finds a cleaner shrimp which he puts into his mouth.  That shrimp then cleans all the food off his teeth.  It is so awsome to watch!  Well, our missionaries are kind enough to clean up leftover food after our activities so we don't have to carry any food back across the street.



If 8 is great and 50 is nifty, what is 66?

Yesterday was my birthday and Elder Wahlquist said I could do anything I wanted. And I did!  It was a day with no scheduled meetings or activities so I slept in, which was a wonderful treat.  After our usual morning studies we went to lunch at the Marriott which is just two blocks away.  We had their delicious ciorba and hummus with warm Lebanese bread.  A perfect meal!

After lunch we went to Old Bucharest to visit a church that was built in 1724.  As you can see they are doing some work on the street in front of the church.  Romania must not have an OSHA. We have yet to see a hardhat or any steel toed boots.

Biserica Stravapoleos

Then it was back to our air conditioned apartment to cool off and relax.  For me that means quilting.

Later we took a bus, then the metro, followed by a tram ride to an "authentic" Mexican restaurant for dinner.  We didn't know what to expect but we were very pleased.  The guacamole was delicious and the enchiladas were very good.  It was so spicy our lips were burning and Elder Wahlquist had sweat on his brow.  When the waiter saw that we couldn't finish our meal, he wanted to fix us another plate that wasn't so spicy.  Now that we know we can ask for "mild," we will take the other senior couples in Buc back for an evening of good Mexican food.  The Romanians have embraced McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC but we haven't found any Taco Bells.

The day ended with the Zone Leaders calling and singing "La Mult Ani."  Literally translated that means "to many years."

I think 66 is going to be great and nifty!

Very Special Delivery!

Taryn's friend, Adriana, from Boston is here in Bucharest visiting her Grandmother.  She was kind enough to bring a bag of goodies from Taryn for us.  We loved visiting with her and hearing the story of how she came with her family from Romania to America when she was 10 years old.  She took us to a wonderful restaurant that serves authentic Romania food and because she speaks fluent Romanian she was very helpful translating for us.  She showed us a lovely part of the city that is very old and historic.  When it is not so hot we will visit again and linger!

In "Caru' cu bere," a historic restaurant in old Bucharest.

Looking down one of the historic streets in old Bucharest.

Thanks, Adriana, for sharing your heritage with us and thank you Taryn, for a little taste of home.



Taste of Romania - Part One

Since arriving in Romania 3 months ago, almost all of our time has been spent in Bucharest.  However, on our second full day here, we went to a Senior Couple's Conference in the town of Sibiu, an ancient walled city dating back almost a 1,000 years.    We met the other senior couples from Romania and Moldova while visiting a beautiful area rich in history after a drive through the snowcapped Transylvania Alps. 

We stayed in a beautiful old (about 200 years) hotel located on a walking street lined with ancient buildings.

That street led into the town plaza surrounded by buildings and churches dating back several hundred years.  We were fascinated by the "eyes of the city" which are the little windows in the roofs of the buildings.





A church that was built in the 1500's.

One evening we drove several hours to a bed & breakfast located on a isolated hilltop 

This is the view from the front yard of the "Casa Roger" B&B where we had a wonderful traditional Romanian meal.  Roger is a member of the Church from England who built this bed and breakfast near a little village where he has been doing humanitarian aid work for almost 20 years.  

These village girls, dressed in authentic Romanian costumes served our meal.

Along the way, we passed through beautiful countryside.

Throughout the drive, we saw flocks of sheep like this one.  Unfortunately, we are not the best picture takers, but the little tiny dark dot in the middle of the sheep is the shepherd.  Unlike American sheepherders who drive their flocks from behind, each flock had a shepherd carrying a staff and leading the flock. They look like they stepped out of the scriptures.

What a wonderful way to start our mission in Romania!

 



Missionary Life

Happy Anniversary to us!  We have been on our mission for three months.  We have learned many wonderful things from the young missionaries here.  Not only have they set a great example of dedication and love for the Romanian people, we have learned a new vocabulary.

1.  boboc (means "baby duck" in Romanian) - new missionary
2.  nas (put a little squiggly thing under the s and pronounce it like nosh. It means godfather in Romanian) - These are the missionaries that take the new missionaries home for their first night in Buc.
3.  Sheriff - this is the missionary that guards all the luggage at the gara (train station) on transfer day.
4.  white wash - when both missionaries in an area are changed on the same day.
5.  to die - when a missionary goes home on his last transfer, he is "dying." 
6.  All missionary time is measured in transfers, which is 6 weeks.

Wednesday we receive a whole new batch of missionaries from the MTC.  Which means a lot of missionaries will be going home.  Brent and I fixed breakfast for our district to reward them for a job well done on their apartment inspections and to say goodbye to the two Elders in our district who are "dying". 

I have relearned how to make hotcakes from scratch and syrup with maple flavoring.

Panduri District Picture

Almost!

Good effort!

Finally!

We will miss Elder's Betteridge and Layton.

Street Singing

The two Buc zones stood outside a buzy downtown metro stop and sang hymns for about an hour Saturday evening.  President and Sora Hill joined us. Brent had to spritz me with a spray bottle every few minutes but I made it!  Lots of people stopped, listened and accepted pamphlets about the Church.  It was a great experience but I'll be okay if we don't do it again until Fall!

Independence Day in Romania - Missionary Style

Today was the Fourth of July and all the Bucharest missionaries came together to celebrate.  We had a good old-fashioned BBQ and then played games.  As you can see from the pictures our participation did not include actually playing the games. We took pictures.  Some of you moms out there will be so proud!

Water balloon volleyball

The Elders giving instructions to the Soras

The Soras thanking them soooo much

The objective of the game is to put a water balloon in the towel and

sling the balloon over the net for the other side to catch in their towel.  They managed to get a few balloons back and forth over the net several times before they smashed on the ground or on someone, while some balloons died on the first toss.  It seemed like they went through about 100 balloons. 

Elder Horgmo and Elder Layton not quite in synch.

Elder Betteridge and Elder Farr slinging for the fences.

The whipping cream game

Elder Betteridge not waiting for the rules of the game.

So you squirt some whipping cream on the top of your hand then

hit your arm so the whipping cream flies off and hopefully lands

in someones mouth.

Elder Betteridge and Elder Farr poised to get the next shot of whipping cream.

Success!

Not so much for Sora Mudge.

Let's get that whipping cream over here!

The Party is Over!

Happy 4th of July!