Transfers to Brasov ~ Romania 🇷🇴 Mission ~

May 4, 2020

Field Trip #2 ~ Brasov

Last night we dropped off Elder Lee at the AP's apartment here in Bucharest since they had to get up really early and do all of their transfers; the first being to drop off Elder Lee in Galati with Elder Valentine. Elder Firth stayed with us in our extra bedroom; we got home so late from our travels last night that we had a lite dinner and off to bed ~ it was a fun, exhilarating day 😀😅😴💤.

I found my seashells from Constanta the next morning in my pocket ~ they were all so pretty and unique!

We have a very excited young woman who is ready for her transfer to the beautiful town of Brasov! Sora Gaskin, of course, is sad to leave Sora Teuscher, but she has been in the Bucharest area her whole mission so the change will be welcomed! Before we picked up Sora Gaskin, Elder Matthews and Elder Firth dropped me off at the church, went and picked up Sora Cleveland and Sora Phillips from Mihai Bravu and dropped them off at Sora Teuschers apartment.  The three of them will hang together while we do transfers. Then they brought Sora Gaskin back to the church and got me!

Sora Gaskin and I got in the backseat and got comfy.  All of us talked and visited together then Elder Firth and Sora Gaskin would start speaking in Romanian so Bill and I would listen quietly. Sometimes they would laugh and I'd ask them what they said then we'd all talk in English for a bit but for the most part they would talk in Romanian and "exclude" us 😜.  We got used to it and were happy just listening to their sweet bantering.  It wasn't until much later that we learned that when the Elders and Sisters are together they are only supposed to talk to each other in Romanian (this would have been helpful to know so I wouldn't have felt left out 😂😂😏)!

The drive to Brasov was beautiful, especially as we began going through all the mountains (big hills 😉)!  It is so green and lush. The region of Transylvania takes in 16 counties; we have 7 sets of missionaries in 4 of these counties: Arad, Brasov, Cluj and Sibiu.  All of these areas are so gorgeous!

We had to make a few stops cuz many of the addresses to the apartments were incorrect so a few phone calls were necessary. We, of course, all stayed together but it is so sweet how the missionaries always have each other's backs.  It is like one big family of brothers and sisters looking out for one another.  It is truly precious!

Since Brasov is so close to Dracula's Castle we couldn't resist having a drop by! There is so much rich historical information (and much mythical information as well) regarding Bran Castle a.k.a. Dracula's Castle. 
The website below, along with many others gives you an idea of what is real and what is not. "This character (Dracula) is often confused with Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler 🗡🗡🗡😳 [emojis added]), sometimes known as Vlad Dracul, who was a Walachian Prince with a castle, now in ruins, located in the Principality of Wallachia.  Because Bran Castle is the only castle in all of Transylvania that actually fits Bram Stoker's description of Dracula's Castle, it is known throughout the world as Dracula's castle.  Chapter 2, May 5 of "Dracula" describes the Count's castle as ". . . on the very edge of a terrific precipice . . . with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm [with] silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests." http://www.bran-castle.com/dracula.html 

^^^ An Excellant Description ^^^!

We were unable to go inside the castle but we certainly hope to get back there soon for a tour (and hopefully take as many missionaries, in the area, with us on their P-day)!

We can't begin to express how much fun we have with these amazing missionaries (I think we need to encourage SLC to let Kobe come out here instead of going back to Mexico when he returns back out on his mission 😁😁😏)! The spirit is so strong with these young kids and they are mature and responsible and show forth such Christ-like love to everyone.  We are truly blessed to be able to associate with them!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transylvania

Romania has been chipped at quite a bit (like most countries) and you'll hear different stories if you talk to others outside of Romania. But keeping any part of the Northern and Western part of the country has been such a blessing and I feel it is some of the most beautiful parts of the country!

We were given a schedule and approximate pick up times from the Hungarian Mission Office. Unfortunately, they sent a different one to the Sora's in Brasov so they waited outside in the cold and didn't call us until they had been waiting 45 minutes.  We had stopped and had lunch with Gabriel and Catalina Petcu.  They are the Institute leaders/teachers over the YSA's so we had a few items to discuss with them (and a most scrumptious lunch ~ let me tell you the Romanians have a wonderful way with food 💕😋💕).  When we arrived Sora Perry and Sora Bell were pretty much frozen. Next transfers we will make sure and verbally speak with them and let them know of our arrival time 😮.Elder Matthews, Elder Firth, myself and Sora Perry jumped in the car and raced over and dropped Elder Firth off with Elder Truscott and Elder Chandler for the night (the AP's will bring Elder's Firth and Chandler back to Bucharest tomorrow)! 
Then Sora Perry (who is an absolute delight to be with) and Bill and I had a glorious rainy ride home to Bucharest!We picked up Sora Cleveland and dropped her and Sora Perry off in Mihai Bravu!  If that wasn't confusing enough I'll give you a  RECAP:

When we are with these beautiful young women and see their spirit shine so bright it reminds me of when Marcie was on her mission in Brazil.  She would share so much of her "Mission Life" with us but we truly could not understand all of her experiences.  We are just getting a tiny glimpse into the joy and some of the hardships that all missionaries have.  Both with Marcie and our son's there are many things that we were unaware of but they were all obedient and great missionaries just like these kids!

Needless to say Transfers ROCK! In most instances the Elders and Soras will take the train to get from one city to another so we feel especially blessed to have had the opportunity to actually travel with these kids! Many wonderful things have happened during the Pandemic and this was one of them, especially having the opportunity of seeing so much of Romania.  During our actual travel we saw many miracles 💙😇💙 as time after time we were flagged through road blocks or went through at just the right time when the police had taken a break from checking each car for papers and reason for travel. At one point I thought our car must have looked invisible as it was the only one not stopped . It was a fun day of travel and not once did anyone ask, "Are we there yet?" 😂😅😉 Missions Rule!

Monday: (9:30- 13:00) You will take Sister Phillips and Sister Cleveland (from Mihai Bravu Bucharest) and drop them off with Sister Teuscher (at Panduri, Bucharesti). You will take Sister Gaskin and also Elder Firth to Brasov. (13:00-16:00) Drop off Sister Gaskin with Sister Bell. Then drop off Elder Firth with the elders in Brasov. Then with Sister Perry, you will head back to (Panduri, Bucharest) You will pick Sister Cleveland up and drop them off in (Mihai Bravu, Bucharesti). 

Addresses: Mihai Bravu (Phillips and Cleveland): STR. BAIA MARE 2, BL. 4, SC. B, AP. 83 Panduri (Teuscher): Strada Cpt. Ion Garbea, Bloc turn, Scara A Apt. 24, Sector 5, Bucuresti Brasov (Bell): Strada Carpatilor 44, Bloc B1, Apt. 71, Brasov Brosov (Elders): Str. Piata Teatrului Nr. 9, Sc. A, Apt. 18, Brasov Mihai Bravu (other apartment): Strada Dristoruliu 91-95, Bloc E, Apt. 433, Sector 3, Bucuresti

Transfers to Constanta ~ Romania 🇷🇴 Mission ~

 ~ May 3, 2020

Field Trip ~ #1!

It is time to say, "See You Later, Elder Wilkinson" (on the right side).  He is off to a new adventure in Constanta.  It is a beautiful little city by the Seashore!  We, of course, are so sad to drop him off but we know he will have a marvelous time and we are excited for him.  Elder Wilkinson arrived in Romania about 3 weeks after us so we will be here throughout his whole mission! He is from England and has the most wonderful accent.  He is constantly being called on to give prayers as everyone loves to hear him pray ~ a proper English Romanian accent. Elder Firth (on the left, also District Leader) gets to tag along with us and spend the night because we will leave early the next morning to take Sora Gaskin to her new City (more on her later)!  Doesn't Elder Firth look just like Gilbert Blythe from "Anne of Green Gables"?  He definately is as sweet as Gilbert!

It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Bucaresti but we brought lots of goodies to share and Elder Firth gave us some Romania lessons on the way! As we approached Constanta you could smell the sea and hear the wind all around.  It was refreshing and exciting!

Sora Matthews (teary), Elder Wilkinson, Elder Firth and Elder Matthews 

~ Until we meet again Dear Friend ~

I'm sure that these 2 will be companions again before their missions are over (or at least be in the same city) although with the Coronavirus they might not be together because by the time we start getting new missionaries into Romania again, Elder Wilkinson will be a trainer just like Elder Firth!

Elder Wilkinson's new companion, Elder Kutchin (scratching his face), is a super great guy and you can tell how powerful this kids are; these young men are mighty warriors bringing the world the truth
.  We say our farewells as we get in our car and take Elder Lee back with us to Bucaresti! 

BUT FIRST we have to make a little stop at the Seashore and snap some pictures! The Seashore is beautiful but there was not any sand where we went just miles of shoreland with a zillion little seashells everywhere!

Elder Firth and Elder Lee It was a beautiful day with just the right amount of a breeze! Elder Matthws and I would like to come stay overnight here sometime on one of our P-Day's!

It was a very fun-filled day! Transfers Rock!

Goodie Bags ~ Romania 🇷🇴 Mission ~

~April 30, 2020

We've spent the last 3 days getting our Goodie Bags ready for all the Missionaries in Romania!

The Mission Office in Hungary ordered all of our supplies and sent them to us.

😋😋😋And some extra candy😋😋😋

Each day when we arrived Billy would settle in for some District Presy stuff then do a bunch of Mission "busy work". He did most of the write-ups for: car maintenance, apartment inspection, water filters, etc., so I wouldn't have to deal with any of it 😍 ~ it's nice to know each others strength and weaknesses!   

A very organized assembly line! 

I know it seems like an easy thing to do but even though they said there were a 100 gloves in each box (by weight) it seems like some of the gloves must have been on diets because 2 of the boxes were shy of a 100 and one had a few extra.  I must have counted each box 3 times so I knew the exact number of gloves in each box, the miracle of it all was that we actually ended up still having 400 gloves total ~ coincident? I think not (and I know there were not exactly 100 in each box ~ I promise!).

Sister Hettinger had added a yummy candy bar then I had Elder Matthews run out and grab some more cute bags and added another box load of candy for me to add to the bags 😉 (he's a good man)! 

The Faulsuv's came and helped for a couple hours one day and Sora Gaskin and Sora Teuscher came during one of their breaks and helped!  It was a lot funner and faster with buddies helping 😀!

The AP's, Elder McLaws and Elder Church, were also making trips with some Elders to take them to their new destination.  They came over to the Church to sort out the mail and gather the bags that they would be taking with them to the Missionaries that they would be seeing!

These two Elders are a crack-up ~ I have to keep Elder Matthews away from them as they have way too much fun!Last group to be packed up ~ I'm afraid I may have gotten a little confused with the number of bags we needed.  I thought we had 39 missionary's so I made up 40 bags.  After a little recounting I realized there were 45 missionaries and this did not include the 3 Senior couples ~ my bad.  I spent more times counting and recounting the gloves then on any other part of this project ~ putting them in then taking them out and spreading them into 45 bags from 40 bags. Quite a tricky job 😅! Consequentially we had to let the Missionaries know that they would be getting 6, 8, or possibly 10 gloves in their bags 😂😂😳!


Sora Garlitz and Sora Clawson sent us a sweet "Thank You" text and picture of them with their Goodie Bags! They are the cutest!

Here are all of our Amazing Missionarys in Romania ~ we are so excited to meet many more this week ~ Transfers Rock!

We were extra sad (as you can tell in our picture) during our very last District meeting with all of these exceptional Missionaries. Elder Wilkinson is going to Constanta 😓, Elder Firth stays 😁, Elder Church stays 😁, Elder McLaws is going to Cluj (West Zone) 😓, Sora Gaskin is going to Brasov (East Zone) 😓 and Sora Teuscher is staying😁!  We are very sad to lose these young Missionaries but we are also super excited for them to go and touch more peoples lives in a different part of Romania! Farewell sweet kids ~ until we meet again💙😇💙!

~Update: Eye, Restoration Video, Cancer ~ Romania 🇷🇴 Mission

June 7, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

       We are so saddened by what has been happening in America and in many other countries because of the horrific way George Floyd was taken down and murdered.  I am glad the officers were fired and will be charged with criminal offenses.  There are many that have taken this disheartening situation to bring on contention and prejudices throughout the States.  The behavior of those that are doing unfriendly protests with destruction and violence is appalling and sad. We pray for those that mourn and are in need of comfort.  I am proud of the citizens in SLC (and I am sure many more citizens across America) who took action after the capital was graffiti'ed and cleaned it up and painted it.  These are some of the true heros.  As far as those that are using this incident to provoke hostility, discord and conflict it is truly inexcusable.  Here is a message from our prophet that we wholly agree with.

Amen.

Now an update on other things 😁😃😄😃😁!

MY "GOOD" EYE: Our sweet wonderful doctor back home in Utah told us that it was a mild membrane in the right eye that isn't effecting my eye or changing from the last time he saw me. He said there would have to be enormous change for it to cause the hole they are referring to; highly unlikely but not impossible.  He said it has been there, in my good eye, since late 2017 and hasn’t changed significantly since mid 2018.  If it worsens I would notice central distortion/blurriness that would be there all the time. Phew! It is always sweet to have the opinion of my own personal specialist!

So my appointment went well this last week and she asked me to come back in 3 months.  Each day she has a little routine for me to go through to see if I notice even the slightest difference.  She wants me to call her immediately if I notice anything strange at all.  If this membrane pulls at all it won't be good news.  But for now all is well! Thank you for your prayers ~ I believe they are holding me together 😇😌😇!

Yummy reward for our 2 doctor appts today!

CANCER; After Billy's cancer on his nose last year, we are on constant lookout for anything suspicious ~ and sure enough he had some pre-cancer on his hand that he got zapped off (it is only right since we continue taking turns with our health issues 😂😂😉.  This was the Doctor I went to in February about a 2nd throat infection.  He put me on the 3 day Zithromax and finally on February 26 (my baptismal date back in 1977) was the first time I felt awake, healthy and back to normal! 

THE RESTORATION VIDEO: Here is the visual of Robbie, Mindy and me in the video "The Restoration".  Bill and me, our 6 kids and Mindy's husband, Jakob, and their baby Kobe all shot the different scenes but all the rest were cut but the 3 of us.  Like I said before, if you blink you'll miss us all! It was a fun-filled 3 days for all of us!

A 15 second portion with all 3 of us in it 😇!