Leap Year Day!

This book is power and our errand is to share it's light with the world! (Elder Despain)

Today we held zone conference in Iasi. It is February 29th and leap year! I should have taken a group picture of this zone on this rare day, but didn't--- so I thought I would post just a few photos that have significant memories to us since the last leap year day. There are not many here but each is a story.

Photos that tell a story

Remembering

More favorite photos

(Elder Johnston took this photo)

I'm back!

During the month of January I only took three pictures. My kids said to me, "Mom, are you sick?" The answer to that was YES! The kids believe I am the "picture taking queen" and if I don't take photos something is wrong with me. Well, I got some virus (like mono) and it put me down for a while. I was lucky to keep up with the basics and didn't get a chance to add to my blog! Sorry about that but I want you to know I am back and will do a better job in the future! I've posted a few things that have happened in February.....The work in Romania is going great! We love it here and we love the missionaries!

Blessings in Sibiu!

These two happy faces belong to Elder Castro (the junior companion) and Elder Haddock. They are our two elders working in Sibiu. Last week they had an Outreach Activity with the Hanson's from Ploiesti and over 50 people attended. Two weeks ago they had 29 people attend church there. This may not sound like much to you but last December this Branch was scheduled to be closed because no one in that Branch was coming to church. These two elders took the challenge from their mission president to put everything they had into turning this city around. They didn't take "no" for an answer and hit the streets running! The Branch members are coming back to church and last week these elders had 14 investigators attending with them. It proves that when you work with "full purpose of heart" the Lord can perform miracles through you!

I thought you might like to see what the "baptismal font" looks like in many of our small branches. This one is set up in the back yard of the vila in Sibiu. A couple of weeks ago Elder Castro baptized a woman in this font in bitter cold weather. It was lightly snowing. Elder Castro comes from the Naval Academy in Anapolis and he told us it was the coldest water he had ever set foot in. He didn't think he would be able to breathe until he got out. The woman got in and she too was cold. He said he baptized her and then found out from Elder Haddock that her foot had come out and he would have to perform the ceremony again. He said he was praying hard for this woman to not get too cold and courageously they both re-did the baptism. Elder Castro said that when the woman stood up in the water she smiled and said the water was not cold. She was not shivering and had a big smile on her face. Elder Castro couldn't believe it and then said he realized that the Lord had answered his prayers. He decided that next time he would also pray that he wouldn't feel the cold! This photo with Elder Castro and Elder Linsenmeyer (one of our Assistants) putting their hands on the water, is to show you that the water in the "font" is frozen solid.

Not only is it frozen on the top of the water but it is frozen all the way to the bottom! This, after only a couple of weeks of sitting out. Now they have to wait until the weather warms up before they can take the font down. (Maybe they'll have another baptism by then!) This is a little miracle from Sibiu but I must tell you that all of our elders are working hard in their different cities and the Lord is blessing all of us with great success. There's nothing like being a missionary!

Colorful Culture

As we travel we see all kinds of interesting things. My husband loves this ATV-tree chopper-road chugger-firewood cutter and transportation vehicle. He's tried to get me to take a photo for a long time and I finally got this one. It looks very home made but it definitely works sawing up logs!

A couple more homes.....these are gypsy homes and are very colorful! There is lots of personality in rhis country....you just can't help loving it!

Starting Zone Conference

After leaving the Transylvania District Conference we traveled to Oradea to do interviews and get ready for our first zone conference in Cluj. This photo is the Branch President's wife, Sora Isabela Geambasu, and we are standing in front of the Branch Vila. By the way, we got a new van a couple months ago and finally got our lisence plates.......notice the "LDS" on it? I didn't know we could do that here but the dealership arranged it for us! Ce marfa! (so cool!)

This is one of the churches in Oradea. I really like this one because half way up to the top is a round ball representing the changing of the moon or the sun. It works like a clock and is so fun to watch the changes. One thing I love here is how almost all the big clocks on cathedrals work and show the correct time. The other wonderful thing is the ringing of the church bells. They ring faithfully in every city and I love to hear them.

This was a fun house I noticed as we were driving to Cluj-Napoca. I love the personality in so many homes here. It could be a gypsy home because of the silver turrets.

Transylvania District Conference

Not long after our Transfers this month we held a District Conference in the city of Arad on the 17th of February. This city is beautiful and I thought I would share a couple of pictures with you.

Our visiting authority was an Area Seventy from Norway, Elder Sterri. He was a wonderful teacher and our conference was a great success. We had about 150 people there and as I looked into their faces from the stand it was as though light was shining from all their faces. We also held a RS meeting while the Priesthood meeting was going on and we had around 65 sisters there. We had a member from Arad speak, Sora Lofgreen teach about music and then I ended with a talk on Ministering to each other.

In and Out -- February Missionaries

Transfer week is not always easy! Not only does it mean that many of our missionaries get new companions and move to new cities, but we also have to let go and "graduate" a group of our finest people as their missions end and they leave us to go home, meet their families and start a new life. On February 6th we "graduated" Sora Templeman, Sora Griffith, Elder Bigler, Elder Middleton, Elder Denning, Elder Wade, Sora Nettesheim, Sora Trijulla, Elder Palmer and Elder Dabling. What a great group of young men and women! We will truely miss them!

Our pain at losing those missionaries is softened somewhat by the new elders and sisters that join us the same day our older missionaries gone home. This time we got a big group of twelve enthusiastic, ready to work people! We are thrilled to welcome Elder Anderson, Sora McKnight, Sora Taylor, Elder Manzione, Elder Smith, Elder Sorensen, Elder Woodard, Elder de Guzman, Elder Thompson, Elder Stromberg, Elder Zemp and Elder Holmes.