Grandma Chubby's Stuff

The "Old-Timers" meet again!

2009-08-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we had a real treat when a group of our past senior missionaries joined us in our home for dinner. We had saramale, mamaliga and lots of other good food. Of course, we reminisced about the mission and the people we love in Romania. It was a real treat and again, we were so thankful for the opportunity we had to serve in that country with all of these dedicated and hard working people.

The Lofgreen's and below, the Cannon's.
Attending were the Wrights, Bryson's, Watson's, Jacob's, Lofgreen's, Bowman's, Hanson's, Sister Wallin, Dr. Moody and his wife, Evelyn, the Creamer's, the Cannon's, the Facer's, the Boyle's and of course us, the Ashby's!
"Old Timers"? Well, yes, I called this posting that because, after everyone walked into our home and were sitting around visiting, one of my kids came up to me later and said, "Mom, I've never seen so many old people in our house at the same time before!" I just had to laugh! Boy, is our perspective different than our kids! These people all worked their tails off with us in Romania. I never thought of a single one of them being "old"! Now, when I was young, I thought anyone 50 years old was up to his knees in the grave, but, since passing that milestone myself, I now realize what a young age 50 actually is! At any rate, it's really true that you are only as old as you feel! The spirit is young no matter how old the body gets and we saw that demonstrated so many times while working with these wonderful couples during our missions.

The Travel Bug Hit!

2009-07-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks we have been on the road again. After traveling 3 weeks out of every 6 while serving in Romania, it has taken us a year to have the desire to hit the road again! This past year has been spent moving into our new home, spending a lot of time with family and spending time at our cabin. However, this summer it was time for us to go to Seattle and visit our son, Curtis and his family, in Everett, Washington. We decided to drive up there and enjoy the scenery along the way! We ended up spending 8 days with them (which included the 4th of July and some crazy fireworks with their neighbors) and then going up into the San Juan Islands. In the San Juan Islands we stayed in a beautiful home on Lopez Island for four days where we relaxed, collected shells, and went whale watching! It was awesome! After that we went to Victoria, BC for a few days and among other things visited the famous Butchart Gardens. Sadly, we got a call at this time telling us one of our senior missionaries had passed away and John flew home to speak at Kris Johnston's funeral. I was sad I couldn't go with him but we had our car and some friends with us and I had to stay with the vehicle! After the funeral John flew back to Portland, Oregon and met us there. We continued from there down the coast, exploring and staying wherever we felt like it. It was very beautiful and again, we explored the beaches and watched a lot of Sea Lions lumber and play around. From there we spent a few days in the California Giant Coastal Redwood forests. Wow! It was like being in a fairy land or maybe "middle-earth". We hiked and had a lot of fun exploring that area. On our trip we bet each other who could be the first to find the most wildlife.....we saw a cute little green frog, deer (that came up to us and ate our of our hands), killer whales (who didn't eat out of our hands!), elk, a fox, bunnies, Sea Lions, Seals and fish! Maybe more....I can't remember! We topped our trip off with stopping in Nevada City on our way back to SLC and participated in the baptism of three of our grandchildren.....Alex, Raistlin and Aurora Ashby. That was a real treat and we were so happy to be able to again be at a special event like this with our family.
The trip was great, but as they say "There's no place like home!" and it is good to be home again. Below are a few photos highlighting the trip! Curtis, Giovana, Marcus and Juliana.....our family in Washington!

Our good friends, John and Bonnie VanderVeur joined us for the last two weeks of our trip.
Bonnie and I go off on the "Sea Lion" to see if we can spot any whales!

Brandon Ashby and his kids . . . Alex, Raistlin and Aurora

Bringin' Home the meat!

2009-07-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Well, yes, John did make up for five years of NO Hunting! Besides getting his elk this past fall, he got a buffalo in January and couldn't resist stuffing the head. We recently got the big guy back and John was happy to tell us that this scruffy looking animal was the leader of the pack. He had been in many fights in order to dominate his herd and thus his horns were chipped and scarred and the hair around his face was not the pretty look of a proud, young bull. John loved getting a fighter! By the way, this bull and several others were marked to taken this year because of their age and the plan that had been put in place for herd management. If John hadn't gotten him someone else would eventually have done so. That made it easier for him to shoot such a majestic animal!

It was a monster but boy did it give us a ton of meat! We ended up having to buy another freezer. However, our kids now think our garage is the local FREE butcher shop and they don't hesitate to drop by to fill their shopping carts!
Now, what to do with that monster head! We ended up putting it in our cabin in Fairview, Utah. It was too big for any wall but one bedroom. He's quite a site to be laying in bed and looking up at!
It took our son, Brandon, and John a good hour to struggle it up the wall but they finally made it and now anyone who walks in that room in the dark better beware! Mostly because it might scare the pants off you if you don't know its there! :)

We're Finally Moved In!

2009-06-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today we finally moved our last item out of storage! After 8 months we have finally and completely moved into our new home! John cheered when he looked in the storage garage and realized he didn't have to move one more thing! Everything is on our property now....albiet, not all organized, but here! John's '53 Buick pulled in the drive way and settled in its new home....the garage. We breathed a sign of relief. Now to finish putting everything away or give it away.....that's the goal!

By the way, our mission president from our first mission to Romania, President and Sister Hansen, came to visit us yesterday. We had a great visit with them and spent several hours hashing over our missions. I hate to say it but, it made us a little homesick!

This week . . .

2009-04-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Three of our grandkids, Hannah, Charly and Nicolas, got to have their picture taken with Elder Christofferson this past Sunday. I told Hannah she may not get this opportunity again and she was very shy about it. She recently got her recommend to do baptisms in the temple and is excited for her first time to go.

I wish Spring would really get here! These darn deer won't leave the field next to our house and I know the minute my roses bloom they will eat them! We have a small herd of about a dozen that can't get it into their little heads that deer belong on the mountain....not the city limits of Draper! Well, I have to admit that the two little fawns are sure cute! In this picture they were just daring me to come closer. About a week ago we were at the cabin and their must have been hundreds of deer in this big open meadow. As we drove down a dirt road I saw a group of about twenty next to the fence. We stopped the car to look at them and they started to lope away. I rolled down my window and yelled, "You teenage deer, stop this instant, turn around and listen to me!" I was shocked when the whole herd immediately stopped, turned around, stood there and stared at me! They left me speechless. I finally said, "well, you can go now. I just wanted to tell you to mind your manners and not eat the flowers in people's yards. Be good deer and stay out of trouble." I'll be darned if those deer didn't turn around and run away as soon as I was through talking! It was the weirdest thing. I swear they listened to what I was saying to them!This last week, our Granddaughter, Zoey Sutherland performed in her class play, "A Comedy of Errors" by Shakespear. She got to play the role of the old father, who the King and everyone else, was trying to chase out of the town and kill. She did a great job and had to memorize a lot of lines!
Zoey is the "guy" with the white shirt, tan vest and white beard! "His" hands are also tied together with a rope! I didn't recognise her at first! Way to go Zoey!

Tatiana comes to visit Utah

2009-04-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

As most of you know about Tatiana, I won't go into much detail except to say that she is the young woman we met the spring of 2004 in Romania. Tatiana was a beautiful girl who had the most severe case of Scoliosis we had ever heard about. She desperately needed surgery as the twisting of her spine was slowly cutting off the air to her lungs and would eventually (within a few years) take her life. Our mission President, President Hanson, talked to us and asked us if we wanted to try and find a way to get her some help. He couldn't do it with the other responsibilities he had going on and so we started this project. It turned out to be very discouraging. Many people in the United States tried to give money and get doctors to operate on her. Steve and Barbara Coombs worked very hard on this end talking to medical people but every one of them refused saying they had never seen a case as bad as hers and that she would probably die on the operating table and they didn't want to be responsible for that! Luis Espinosa, from Utah also spent a lot of time talking to doctors out of Utah. It was discouraging but finally, after four years, a miracle happened and the best Scoliosis doctors in the country and a hospital in Florida agreed to take on her project. Tatiana was operated on twice in January and after two months of recovery is now walking around, has a straight spine and is about three inches taller! She is still very fragile and has to wear a brace for another two months but is recovering rapidly. All the doctors and everyone who has worked with her has been amazed at her progress. A lot of people and organizations gave their time and tons of money to have this happen but, in so doing have saved the life of a wonderful girl. The Lord has answered so many prayers. It took a long time but the miracle happened, and God rewarded her faith and patience.
Last Tuesday Tatiana came to visit us for two days. She came to Utah to spend two weeks here so she could see friends, past missionaries, the Temple and go through the Temple for her own endowments. She also wanted to visit BYU and see what the school is all about. While with us we invited several past missionary couples over and had a little get-together for her with people who have all been concerned and have helped her in different ways. It was a touching time and Tatiana was very sweet and very grateful to everyone. The Boyle's, Lofgreen's, Reed's and Thomas' all came over to visit with Tatiana. There were many other couples who helped her but these few were able to give her a big hug and congratulate her on this wonderful new turn her life has taken.

Tatiana is pointing out Brad Armstrong's square in our missionary quilt. Brad flew to Florida and sat with her day and night after her surgery to give her support and be a translator for all the many people who cared for her and helped her recover. He is another person she will always be grateful to for the service he rendered in her behalf.

Easter - April 12, 2009

2009-04-20T15:20:00.001-07:00

Our youngest son, Danny, along with Chelsea and Blake, went to church with us Easter Sunday.It was very different celebrating Easter back in America again! There were no big plates of red eggs and only a few people sent me a text saying "Hiristos a inviat!" but we were blessed to be with our family again and that made it extra special. We started the Easter week with General Conference the weekend before. This was very wonderful for us as Elder Christofferson had sent us four tickets to every session in the conference center. We attended all sessions and were able to take some great people with us. One was an investigator, another an inactive member, another had been excommunicated years before and is slowly coming back to the church and last of all, a couple who are struggling as they are losing their business in this bad economic condition the country is in. I tell you this because it meant a lot to all of them to attend and feel the spirit that exists in the conference center. Elder Holland gave a beautiful talk on the Savior on Sunday morning and that was the perfect start of our Easter week. On Monday, John and I held Family Home Evening with all our grandkids and showed them the video on the Saviors last week of life and his crucifixon. At the part where Jesus was hung on the cross, one of our little 6 year old grandsons cried out and said, "stop this grandma, it's too horrible and I can't bear to watch it!" I was really touched that it affected him that way and felt like we had really helped the kids understand a little better the gifts that Christ had given each of us. On Easter weekend we held an Easter Egg hunt in our yard for our grandkids. We hid over 300 eggs and they had a blast trying to find them. We had a wonderful time.

On Sunday morning we were privileged to enjoy a beautiful Easter sacrament meeting and partake of the sacrament. In the afternoon, our family all came for Easter dinner and it was great to be all together at the end of this most special of all celebrations.
"Hooray for Easter!" Charly yelled out as Brandon reached her up to the sky!
My brother Sam, brought us his latest carved bear he had made. Each one gets bigger and bigger! They are all very cute!

Romania Bucharest Mission Reunion

2009-04-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night,during the beginning of conference weekend, we held our mission reunion at the Wilkinson Center on BYU Campus. What a great night! I'm not sure how many actually came but it was somewhere between 150 to 200 people. Most of the missionaries were from our group but we had a nice showing from President Hanson's mission too. Everyone brought good food and we all ate and talked like crazy! The noise level in the room was pretty dang high! We also finished the missionary quilt and had it on display. There was a lot of surprise as people found their own little square and were able to see at a glance how many people made up our mission over the three years we served as mission president. Half way through the night we held a small program. Three missionaries talked about funny experiences they'd had and then President Ashby auctioned off four of his treasures from the mission to help the temple/education fund. They were (1) a CD slide show of Romania, (2) a gypsy twig broom (3) a new Romanian hymn book and (4) a license plate from Bucharest! (This was a big hit and ended up with a donation of $121.00!) Afterwards Sora and President Ashby said a few words and brought everyone up to date on the status of the mission. President Ashby had letters from President Hanson, President Lundberg, and President Geambascu from Oreada. The evening turned out very well and lots of hugs and stories were passed around. Yes, we have the best mission in the church! :)

Romania Bucharest Mission Reunion

2009-03-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

The quilt is done! Whew! Just a note to let you know that our mission reunion is being held on Friday, April 3, 2009, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, in the BYU Wilkinson Center, room 3220. We look forward to getting together and renewing friendships! Dress is casual-nice. Food is pot-luck. The meat will be supplied by John and I. We would like to have several of you share a favorite mission experience....spiritual, fun, unusual, etc. Please think about it and call the us at 801-707-6875 if you would be willing to speak. There will be updates on the mission and comments from President Ashby. We will also collect donations for either Temple trips or education help for Romanian/Moldvian members. (Education help is only for members attending school in their own country!)

Draper Temple Dedication

2009-03-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the dedication of the Draper, Utah Temple took place. John and I were privileged to attend the 11:30 session on Friday, the 20th of March. We went to the temple with a busload of people from our neighborhood (not enough room to park everyone at the temple) and after putting little booties over our shoes we were ushered into the temple. An instant peace fell over our group. There were about 2000 people attending this session and I figured we would be lucky to sit in a big closet somewhere in the basement, but, much to our delight, we were directed up to the top floor and John and I sat right by the door into the Celestial room where the dedication was being held. President Monson, his wife, Elder Packer, Elder Holland, Elder Eyring and other church leaders came in right next to us and sat down just a short ways from us. In fact, two of President Monson's body guards sat right next to us. We felt really blessed to be so close to the proceedings. The meeting had six speakers, Elder Marlin K. Jensen,(a Seventy) Elder Packer, (a Seventy), Presiding Bishop Burton, Elder Holland, Elder Eyring and then President Monson dedicated the temple. The choir was from our stake, the Corner Canyon Stake, and the music was Angelic! At the end everyone participated in the Hosanna Shout with our hankies. We then sang, The Spirit of God Like A Fire is Burning. The spirit was burning! It was powerful and you could tell this was now a house of the Lord....a different feeling than what we experienced while serving during the open house!

By the way, last week I was put on "Security duty" at the temple and when I walked in the room to report I was the only woman there. The man is charge said, "Hello, Sister Ashby". I said, "How do you know my name?" Well, in all of the three months of open house time, you are the only sister to have been put on security...it was easy to remember your name!" I was so surprised. I thought I would be put in the parking lot directing traffic and wore a warm coat and heavy shoes but no, they took me up to an office in the upper part of the temple and I got to watch everything going on in the sealing rooms and Celestial room. I had a walkie talkie and checked in periodically. Other than handing out water and answering questions I had no problems! But it was such an honor to serve there. I felt so lucky! The funniest thing was when all the security people left for their positions they told us to be sure and act like proper High Priests and to remember we were not a part of the Swat Teams or Bomb Squads! "I-Yi Sir!", I said while laughing at the irony of it all. On Saturday John was in charge of a group of men in the temple parking lot and enjoyed his service there. He met and renewed acquaintances with several general authorities he knows.

Today was the last day of the dedications and we are excited to be able to attend a regular session at the temple this week. The crazy thing is that we have to call and make reservations to attend as so many people are excited to use this temple. I just love it! It's so wonderful to be a member of this church!

In thinking about the Draper temple dedication, a friend of mine, Allene Lemons, made some comments on her blog about the Kirtland Temple and I thought you might enjoy reading them here:

"As we are preparing this week for the dedication of the Draper Temple, the dedication of the Kirtland Temple was of interest to me. The dedication of the Kirtland Temple was on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and celebrates the Savior's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Unfortunately, we won't be dedicating the Draper Temple on Palm Sunday--that would make the date easy to remember-- but our dedication will be the week before Palm Sunday 2009-- and maybe in our old age we can remember that date. I hope you all remember our New Testament lesson when we discussed the people of Jerusalem spreading palm branches on Jesus's path as he was entering Jerusalem. The waving of palm branches symbolized his triumph and victory as the King of the Jews entered the city but for us it really symbolized Jesus's triumph over death and sin that was going to take place on the week following (that's what Easter is all about). At Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, they also cried Hosanna. The word Hosanna, in our LDS Bible Dictionary, means "save now" and Psalms 118:25-26 adds to "send prosperity." Isn't that interesting? (See http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gs/h/45). This Psalm was chanted anciently at the Feast of Tabernacles. The palm fronds and this Hosanna shout have been a celebration of the Messiah in all ages. Think about this as you attend the dedication."

"Back to the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. It took three years to build and cost between $40,000 and $60,000. The Saints at that time were very poor. I can't help but think about the Draper Temple dedication and the cost of building a temple in 2009 and the serious economic problems that the world is facing. Our early Saints had great faith that they would be blessed spiritually if they completed their temple. It may not be a monetary blessing that we need today as much as a spiritual blessing."

"Well, hundreds of people gathered early on the morning of the Kirtland Temple dedication hoping to get a seat in the temple. The doors opened at 8 AM. Only about a thousand were able to be inside so many had to be seated at a schoolhouse and return the following Thursday for the services to be repeated. Aren't we thankful to our Bishop who has interviewed us and issued us a time so that we don't have to arrive so early?"

"The Kirtland Temple dedication began at 9 AM and the services were seven hours long. Three hour block meetings are easy compared to this. Sidney Rigdon conducted, Sidney Rigdon gave the opening prayer and Sidney Rigdon talked for 2 1/2 hours. Then, Joseph Smith was sustained as the Prophet. They had a 20 minute intermission. Then, Joseph Smith spoke for a short time. There was the sustaining of officers and leaders. Joseph Smith then prophesied that if they upheld these men that the Lord would bless them. Joseph Smith offered the dedicatory prayer. There was an acceptance of the dedication by the congregation. The sacrament was passed. Various testimonies were given. Sidney Rigdon gave some closing remarks and Sidney Rigdon gave the closing prayer. Then they had the Hosanna Shout. This was interspersed with hymns and one of particular note was The Spirit of God which was composed by W. W. Phelps for this occasion. Now, there are lots of promises about the blessings of temple attendance in the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer found in Doctrine and Covenants 109."

Hannah Hiner does Shakespeare

2009-02-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of the fun things about being around our family again is going to the kids sports and school events. Hannah had a starring role in this Shakespeare play! Awesome girl!

Brandon and Emilie's Wedding

2009-02-24T18:04:00.000-08:00

The ASHBY FAMILY!
On February 19th we had 15 grandkids but on February 20th four more joined our ranks! This is the whole bunch of us!

February 20th our son Brandon married Emilie Eldredge Wasdon.....a girl he has known since 1st grade. John'[s brother, Ray Ashby, performed the wedding ceremony and joined their two families of four kids each.....eight is great!

The wedding was held at Wheeler Farm and they had a lot of family and friends from high school attend. We are super happy for this new family and pray for their continued happiness and a long life together.

Emilie has three daughters (Sydney, Aubrey and Sophie, and one son, Isaac). Brandon has two boys, (Alex and Raistlin) and two girls (Aurora and Grace).

Brandon and Emilie shared this story about the way they came together:

Early September 1981, Emilie was 6 and Brandon had just turned 7, it was first grade... the friendship had begun. We were good friends all through grade school, Emilie saw Brandon as someone she could run to when kids were being bullies, someone to confide in and someone that would always treat her well. Brandon saw Emilie as a cute soft hearted friend that was always nice to him no matter what, he always admired her kindness to everyone and how she made every situation fun.

We had home room together in every grade except 3rd grade. In fourth grade we got in trouble for meeting up and "chit chatting" in Mrs. Neilson's reading wagon. Later in the 4th grade we were in charge of being clowns for an assembly. Emilie was a clown juggling and Brandon was her nemesis court jester stealing her juggling balls, it was a total blast and never to be forgotten. The crowd loved us! In the 5th grade we were chastised and threatened to be sent to the principal's office for talking too much to each other in class, at one point the teacher had to move us across the room from each other. We could also be seen in LC5 walking around together, meeting and talking to as many people as we could get away with.

The sad day came when Lone Peak Elementary was built and we were separated for 6th grade.

When 7th grade came, the reunion was sweet and genuine. The hug was long and deep and the reminiscing of the friendship began. We knew we were kindred spirits, but shied away from stepping forward into "liking each other" and both resolved to the idea that we were just best friends. That wasn't without a few hopeful slow dances at the afternoon middle school dances. By the way, the hugs never did stop...

Our friendship remained as we grew. In 10th grade our mutual friend, John Gillings asked Emilie to the prom at the last minute. Brandon was bent that he didn't know she hadn't been asked yet and kicks himself to this day. Emilie then moved away in the middle of 11th grade. When Brandon found out his heart was sad, he knew he would always miss her.

Seventeen years later... Brandon was going through a picture album of his Sprucewood elementary days and saw Emilie's picture and vowed in the morning to search for her on the web. That next morning a work friend coaxed Emilie to join Facebook. The first friend invite she made that day was Brandon Ashby... Neither one knowing the other was now single! (go figure!)

Getting hooked up again was interesting, after a 3 hour phone call and many Facebook chats, our schedules were finally free enough to have a date!! (The anticipation was torture) The first date began with that same long deep hug from long ago and we both knew we were home. All holiday plans changed as of that night. We got all 8 of our kids together and went to the cabin for the holidays.

Friday, January 16th, was a really frosty evening; we drove to the Gateway mall for sushi. We were supposed to go ballroom dancing right after, but Brandon took a detour and asked if Emilie had ever been to the roof of the LDS Conference Center. Next thing we knew we were racing up flights of stairs, our breath blowing out steam and our nose hairs frozen. We got to the last flight of stairs and saw that it was chained off, not to be entered without a tour. After standing there for a few moments looking at the view, Brandon said, "I think we should jump the chain and go up anyway!" So, off we ran up the last flight of stairs hoping we wouldn't be seen. When we got to the top we followed icy pathways along running steamed fountains and snow capped evergreens. When we meandered around far enough out of sight, Brandon sat down and pulled Emilie to his lap. He sweetly said, he knew that she was a blessing in his life and never wanted a life without her, that his love was pure and that he had always loved her, he said that we had always been best friends and planned on staying best friends from here on out. Then he said, "I have a question to ask you...." He dropped to one knee and said, "Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" Then he opened the ring box. Emilie looked into his beautiful eyes and answered, "Absolutely yes!" Then the tears began... It was a magical night! Yes, we still did go dancing... and it was on cloud nine!

Grandma's Bird

2009-02-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

While living in Romania our grandkids felt sorry for us because our bird named "Dimples", died. For Christmas they surprised us with this new little addition. We named him Pepper and he is learning to get along with the family. He was quite fiesty and didn't come to people very easy, but each week he is getting a little better. We think he must have been in a big cage with a lot of other birds and no people interaction before making it to the pet store. He had only been in the pet store two days when our grandkids picked him out and bought him.
Charly doesn't quite trust him but he likes to climb up her shoulder and pick oon her head. He thinks he's the King and so far I think he's right!

Nicolas isn't afraid and tells me he will train Pepper for me! Well, we'll see about that!

CATCHING UP! August and September 2008

2009-02-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Has it been seven months since Romania?? It's hard to believe we've been home that long but it's true! It's surprising how long it takes to get yourself settled and organized in a new life again but we can now say that we are finally there. Recently someone told me they had checked our blog many times and if they looked again and saw me one more time in the bathtub they might have to do something drastic! I was very surprised as I didn't think anyone would care that much about checking my blog once our mission was over. But hey, if even one person is interested then.....I'M BACK! I am going to do a quick "catch-up" of the months from August 2008 through January 2009. After that, I will try to be a little more detailed and do a better job. However, they say pictures are worth a thousand words so, if you like, scroll through the following pictures and you will get the highlights of our last few months. I'm starting with the first part of August, 2008 . . . . .
You can tell we are home....back to the family reunions! This month we attended the Benjaman Ashby family reunion and got to renew friendships with John's counsins and Aunts and Uncles.In the middle of August, The Manti Temple was the site of our neice, Dawn Ashby's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and John's family were in attendance.
John is here with his twin sister, Kelly, his older sister Marian and Marian's husband, Wes Johnson.
The Wedding party!
On August 11th, 2008 all of our family went to Island Park, Idaho for a family vacation. We had a blast. We floated the Snake river, road our motorcycles and four-wheelers, hiked, cooked out, visited Yellowstone and Old Faithful, and just had some great family time together. There was one sad experience that put a damper on the trip. While driving into West Yellowstone a motorcyclist, while traveling very fast, crashed into a car behind us, flew 100 feet into the air and hit the side of the road onto a piece of lawn. John and I and Nikki and Bart quickly stopped and went to help the man. We did all we could until the paramedics arrived but he died shortly after they picked him up. He was well known in the auto racing world and it was sad news when it got out. This was a very sobering experience for us and one we won't forget.
Sheila, my sister, and her husband Dan White visited us from Canada and were able to go on this trip with us. Here they are exploring the Snake River.Nikki
Sara and Hannah prefer the tube to the row boat.
This trip brought lots of smiles and Char gives us a big one.This day was a big one for Charly and Grandpa.Here we are at Big Springs, standing at the head of the Snake River. It's a beautiful spot and the water bubbles out of the ground, cold and clear.The mountain climbing caravan!

Bart and his two babies.....Charly and his Rhino!Almost on the Two Top mountain....
You can't have a big group without something breaking down....Jeremy lost his motorcyle and we loaded it up on the back of Joe's four-wheeler.....we got it out!John and I walk with the Hiner family on the board-walk through the Yellowstone Hot Pots.
Bart, Nikki, Hannah, Nicolas and Charly.Old Faithful still be "old faithful"!Charly plays with the bears!NikkiDan and Sheila....the cabin cooks!Anna White and her "wolf"!
The Sturdy Family reunion!
Joe and his fishin' boat.
On August 30, 2008, John performed the wedding ceremony of our neice, Jody Sturdy and Ray O'Connor. It was held in the forest by the Columbia River in Washington. It was really fun to be a part of their special day.Jody and Ryan listen intently to the seriousness of the covenant they are making with each other.

They are very happy and excited about this new life they have started together.
The bridesmaids were Ryan's and Jody's sisters, and of course, Jody's dog.
This is Jody and Ryan with their parent's.
This photo is Joe and Pauline's whole family.
During the month of September we all worked hard on remodeling and fixing up the house we just bought. We changed all the flooring, a fireplace, two bathroom and the kitchen. It was a lot of work but worth it in the end. Here Danny cleans up some of the fireplace mess.
The kitchen has new appliances and countertops, hardward and dark wood trim here.
The back yard of our house.
My dad, Joe Sturdy, is an expert on American History and the Civil War. He has won National Gun competetions and even restored a Mormon Battalion gun for Pres. Hinckley's son.
In September, John and I, my brother Joe and his wife, Pauline met dad in Nephi, to commemorate and dedicate a monument to our war veterans. They asked dad to bring his cannon and represent past veterans in American History. He didn't blow off the cannon (like he has many times while I was growing up) but he answered a lot of questions and was a hit with the townsfolk. He was also commissioned by another town to build them a cannon for their city building. Joey and John look over the cannon in this photo.
I loved the flag waving off to the side with dad and the cannon in the back ground. So many people have given so much to make America what it is today and we can never be grateful enough.
In these photos dad is having a lot of fun sharing his knowledge of past wars and their big guns!

October 2009 (the first of the month)

2009-02-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

Five years! It's been five years since we were on Lake Powell! We love this lake and practically raised our kids here! This made us feel like we were really back in Utah to stay. It was beautiful here and hardly anyone was on the lake. Of course by the middle of October it is getting a little chilly! We didn't care....we just had a great time and enjoyed this incredble place.

John and Bonnie are our Lake Powell buddies and here we are together again. It almost felt as though no time had passed since the last time we were here. In retrospect, a lot of time has passed and we have changed from all of our experiences. Being here, in a familiar and loved place was comforting and brought back a lot of good memories!

Another birthday! Brandon's kids came to visit for a week and we celebrated Raistlin's birthday together.

The Ashby yard is a lot of fun for the kids.
Aurora and Gracie hug Grandma Sturdy's "little girl". Gracie thought it was a cement copy of Grandma when she was a little girl and she couldn't quit hugging her and telling her she loved her.
Brandon and the kids play in our gypsy wagon from Romania.

Still catching up....October and November 2008

2009-02-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

The third week of October John and I took Zoey and Hannah to Hannah's soccer tournament in Las Vegas. First, we visited with our good friends, Curt and Brenda Alcorn and then we took the girls to ride the big roller coaster, visit the M&M store and eat at a big buffet.
Then the games started. Hannah played for two days and had some really stiff competition. Unfortunately, her team did not win but they played their hearts out. It was pretty warm there and I was glad I wasn't playing! We did a good job cheering them on.
Hannah is pretty serious about the game to come.
Hannah's team gets a pep talk during one of the half-times. Her coach is pretty tough!
However, win or lose, we had a great time together and look forward to doing it again sometime.

October 31st.......Halloween speaks for itself! Scary! Is that you Nick and Sam?
Nikki fixing food for the whole crew!
John with the burgler Bart!
Sara the witch!

The first of November brought us millions of falling leaves! Wow! We had no clue what we were getting into when we bough a house with big trees all around it! Danny and John filled a 100 bags with the stuff!Right after the first of the month (November), our first snow came. It was beautiful and left a magical white blanket over everything.
Sara Ashby celebrated her 8th birthday and it was fun being with her during her special day.

All the grandkids made minature smores to remind them of how the pilgrims probably cooked that first Thanksgiving dinner over campfires.

Thanksgiving morning.....a family tradition is that the guys go out target practicing or shooting rabbits (heaven forbid!) while the girls fix the turkey dinner! A great dinner to remember the many bounteous blessings we have all been blessed with.

Part 2 of Catching Up - December 2008 to February 1, 2009

2009-01-24T17:08:00.000-08:00

Dirk and LillyAnn Cottrell with John at our Corner Canyon 1st Ward Christmas party breakfast. Dirk was our bishop in Pepperwood who challenged us to go on a mission and sent us out on our first mission. While we were gone they sold their home and moved to Draper. While we were gone we sold our home and lo and behold we ended up buying a home in the same ward they moved to! It was great having some of our old ward family here with us!

Yep....He got his elk!
Danny's birthday party ticket! They sold 300 of these babies and it was a PARTY!

"Grandpa, are you sure this won't hurt? How much will the tooth fairy give me?" said Bodi.
Joni Winkler and his wife, Lily. Jared Winkler
Nikki holding up a new little puppy.
A small part of the Sturdy Clan! Christmas is about families!
The best part of Christmas.....Mary, Joseph and the new born babe....what it's really all about!
John gave me a surprise party for my birthday! We went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and a whole group of family and friends were waiting for me. I really was surprised and after ignoring our birthdays and holidays for the last few years, this was really fun. The cake was a chocolate bundt cake and it was yummy!
Charly Hiner, (the cutie in the purple shirt) insisted we all come to her Christmas program. We did and it was worth it!

"This was the best part," Charly said.
Charly with her Mom and dad, Bart and Nikki, and her sister, Hannah.
Most of our friends, and all of our family, know how picky my husband is about what he eats! One of the most of important things he wanted to do this past fall was to hunt for some natural game meat. Well, he got what he wished for! He and Randy Robinson both took big buffalo's and John got two elk. We have plenty of meat now and John will now eat something other than chicken or fish. (He was probably better off just eating chicken and fish but he is very happy about this!)
These two heads will end up being on the wall!
John explains to grandson Carter how important the meat is to him and that he never hurts an animal unless it is to provide meat for the family.
Another wonderful past Romanian missionary visitor.....Elder Jonathan Bush! Elder Bush stopped by on his way to Idaho and spent a couple hours eating and reminiscing with us. He loved the shepherd's coat John had him try on. They couldn't help telling their hunting stories as both of them are really into hunting and Elder Bush's family owns 1000's of "hunting" acres in Colorado.
I think we're shrinking.....look how tall Elder Bush is!
Another missionary surprise.....former Elder McDonald came to visit with his wife and cute little boy.
Brandon traveled to California and picked up his kids to stay with him for the holidays. Left to right is Alex, Grace, Aurora and Raistlin.
Dec. 23rd, Ray and Teresa Ashby had a Christmas party for Ray's siblings....John, his twin, Kelly Strong, Ray and older sister Marian Johnson
Our Christmas tradition is to have fondue dinner as a family and invite another family to share it with us. This year Laura (Tygr's wife) parent's joined us at Tygr's home. We were so lucky to have Char and her kids, Coby, Zoey and Bodi spend Christmas eve night with us. Bodi shares some excitement with his Mom, Charlene, and grandpa John.On Christmas day, breakfast was at our house and we had tons of visitors. Above is my dad and his friend, Rose.
My baby sister....Joyann Hanson
Kim Hall brought her three kids, Brand, Jeffrey and April, along with their children and families to visit us Christmas night. Wow....are they all growing. The years we were gone went quickly but we didn't realize how much things had changed at home until we saw all of our grandkids and how much they had grown!
Hal and Deanna Beames visited us right after Christmas. We shared a lot of fond memories of Romania. The people we served with will always be connected to our hearts. You become "family" when you share those kinds of experiences. It was so good to see them.

Brandon and Emily

A BIGGIE this month was when Brandon proposed to Emily Eldridge and they decided to get married on February 20th. This is the combination of their two families....each have four kids and the children are all delighted with their new, soon to be, family!Our cabin is located between Mt. Pleasant and Fairview, Utah. It's a beautiful and peaceful place. We started 2009 out at the cabin with a small group of friends to bring in the new year.

The New Year's Eve party group......a pretty tame bunch!
Isabelle Halverson, Bonnie VanderVeur and Pauline Sturdy.
John is back doing his thing in the snow! He loves to 4-wheel and snowmobile!
Randy and Susie Robison (above) and Doug and Isabelle Halverson (below)
I think our age is showing! We played Dominoes until 3:00 A.M. on New Year's Eve/morning!We had a surprise visit from Iuliana Blakley (from Moldova) and her hubby, Trent. They stopped by just before leaving for their home in Chicago. It made us really miss Moldova and the wonderful branch members in Chisinau.
Nicolas and Juliana each celebrated their birthday's at our house this year! What a change after 4 1/2 years of not even being to any of their birthdays! We loved it.

The best part of Juliana's birthday was the hot tube party! By the time they were done there was only about 10 inches of water left in the hot tub!
Now for a little R and R down in Fairview.......
We spent a little time at our cabin this month and let me tell you, I never in my life ever thought I would see my husband work on a puzzle! I guess there is a "first" for everything! As the Manti temple is close to our cabin we attended a session there this month. This temple site was dedicated by Moroni and is still operating with "live" sessions. It is very beautiful and we love it there.

Last week we went to our grandon Carter Ashby's school, and taught them about Romania. It was so much fun and the teachers and kids were "glued" to what we had to say. The week before we did the same thing at our granddaughter Charly Hiner's school. The kids loved learning Romanian words and of course, all of them wanted to know if Dracula was real! We taught them a little about Dracul Vlad Tepes.

The kids were fascinated with the sheepskin coat and traditional dress from a country so far from their own.

Look familiar? A group of past Romanian missionaries at a baby shower for our Sora Olson. Left to right....Sora Rasmussen, Sora Hallier, Sora Hatch, Sora Olsen and Elder Young's wife . It was so fun to see them and share stories!

So, what do you do after 4 1/2 years of missionary work?

2008-07-21T18:31:00.001-07:00

I like what Mae West said,

"When in doubt, take a bath!"

Our LAST week in Romania!

2008-07-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

As you can imagine, our last week was pretty hectic. We had to move into an apartment the previous week so the mission home could be painted. Those last two weeks meant we lived out of suitcases while trying to tie up all the loose ends that go with leaving a mission. It was a full week and one where we shed quite a few tears saying good-bye to many people we love. On Wednesday night there was a piano-concert-fireside where the branches in Bucharest awarded us with flowers and gifts to thank us for our service there. We hadn't expected that and were very touched by the outpouring of love shown to us.
On Friday, we invited the Mateescu family to our home. President Ashby had the privilege of baptising President Mateescu and his daughter, Alina in September of 2006 and their family have become special friends to us.

Saturday we spoke for the last time to the YSA leaders from throughout the country. These are wonderful young adults and we enjoyed this special time with them. It was hard knowing we probably wouldn't ever see them again.
After the YSA meeting we went to Cismigiu Park for our final time.

After reading the dedicatory prayer we each went our separate ways into the park and spent some prayerful time reporting our mission to the Lord. This is a sacred experience and one that every missionary has participated in before leaving Romania.
June 29th....our last Sunday! Which Branch do you visit? We chose to go to Ploiesti and had a wonderful Sacrament meeting there. I leaned over to my husband and asked him if we had to speak. He said, "No, this is our last meeting in Romania and we will just enjoy the speakers here." Well, right after that, President Eni got up and said he was changing Sacrament meeting and making it an extra half hour long so President and Sora Ashby could speak one last time to their branch. So much for just relaxing! I will admit that we enjoyed it very much and after church the branch insisted on a group photo. These are wonderful people and we have been so blessed to be able to serve them and learn from them.
On our way home from church we went directly to the Otopeni airport and picked up the new mission president and his wife.....President and Sora Lundberg, and their son. This will be a first for the mission to have a child in the mission president's family. I know the members will love it. After picking the Lundberg's up we spent the afternoon with them and tried to answer all their questions, tell them how the house works and any other important mission stuff....there wasn't much time for it but that is the way the church likes it! It is standard procedure and the new president then comes in with fresh ideas and does things his way. It's a good plan.

That night we went home about 8:00 pm. I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning and at 4:00 AM our office elders ( Rose and McKinlay) and assistants (Jepsen and Rigby) came to pick us up to take us to the airport. It was a whirlwind but we made it and actually had a nice flight home.

We made it! It was a wonderful welcome and Charly gave Grandpa the 3rd degree before deciding he really was that "Grandpa" she's been communicating with (from Romania) on the family computer!
This is our family....the day after we got home they had a swimming/barbeque party and we had a wonderful time....what a change from missionary work but how wonderful to be with our loved ones again.
These are our kids.....Charlene, (Lenore) Nikki and Danny. Second row: Curtis, Tygr, (John) and Brandon.

On Sunday, July 13th we spoke in church and reported our mission. We were so touched by the support we had. There were probably a 100 of our past missionaries there. We cried and enjoyed so much our reunion with them. The spirit in church was strong as we spoke of Romania and the Lord's work there. It was such an honor to be a part of it. Our missionaries sang "Called To Serve" in the Romanian language and we repeated "My Missionary Commission". We also had the opportunity to listen to Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, at the end of our meeting. It was a wonderful day and at the end, John and I felt as though our missionary service had truly ended. We look forward to a day when we have the opportunity to serve again. But for now, we will enjoy our family and get back into life in Utah! First on the list....find a house!

A huge thank you to all of our missionaries families who supported us, their missionaries and the Romanian mission. I can't tell you how many people offered their time, money and anything else they could to help us in this work. You are amazing people and it was an honor serving with your sons and daughters.....the best missionaries in the world!

The THIRD week of June!

2008-06-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, just thought you might like to see how Romanians love color! There is nothing boring about the homes in this country!

Today is Sunday and President Ashby went to Constanta with his Assistants. After interviewing several worthy men he called Alin Constantinescu as the new Branch President. President Gradinaru had been the president there for eight years and it was time to release him. He did a wonderful job and now the reins are turned over to President Constantinescu. During our time in Romania we have changed all the branch presidents except two. Many of them had served many years and it was time to make the changes.

Church is always interesting here. Today we had this investigator attend sacrament meeting in his traditional clothing. It was so fun to see him there. Just before the meeting started a member walked around the chapel with a tray of chocolates and gave everyone a treat. I found out later it was his birthday and he wanted to share it with all of us. La multi ani!

The Last Zone Council

2008-06-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

At the end of each Transfer week we hold our zone council with all the zone leaders. At each council meeting we always invite two of our sister missionaries to participate and be involved in the leadership details of the mission. They often add very valuable insight to the mission business we deal with. Sora Harrison and Sora Garff were our guest sisters this week.

At lunch we serve them a wonderful lunch of lasagne, salad, rolls, vegetable and ice cream. (I think the lunch is a big reason they all show up....just kidding!)

This is the group of great zone leaders serving at this time: (not in order) Elders Sinson, Davis, Sumbot, Castro, Flanary, Ward, Armstrong, Miles, Rigdon, Grant, Loveland and Bringhurst. Also included are our Assistants, Elders Jepson and Rigby, President and Sora Ashby and Sora Harrison and Garff.

The Second week of June!

2008-06-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Transfer week!

"I'm ready!" exclaims Elder Woodhouse. Yep, it's time now....another great group of missionaries leave us and graduate back to their homes and a new life.

Elder Matthew Haddock, Elder Jordan Haddock (no relation!), Sora Kimberly Andersen and Elder Christopher Woodhouse go to Cismigiu Park for the last time.

President and Sora Ashby are a little emotional as they contemplate this being the last time they will take the home-bound missionaries to the park for their final farewell.

Elder Jordan Haddock looks over the "feast" and farewell dinner for our out-bound missionaries! "The best meal I've had in a month," he says.
Our farewell fireside was a fun evening.
The next day we met our three new Elders at Cismigiu Park. Elders Despain, Sandberg and Porter. They were a little tired but excited to be here and ready to go to work!
"Hey, Sora Ashby! Don't forget us!" yell Elder Ward and Elder Smith as they pose for a photo after dropping off a new boboc!

The first week of June!

2008-06-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

The beginning of the month started out with President Ashby having the honor of setting apart two new missionaries. Elder Antonio Szauter went to Scotland and his brother, Catalin Szauter went to England.These two young men are from Romania but had no family and were raised in an orphanage. Because of his extensive charity work here, Brother Steve Worsley found these boys and, after getting to know them, he and his family sponsored them for the last two years so the boys could attend school in America. This great family taught these young men the gospel and both brothers decided to go on a mission at the same time. Before leaving they came back to Romania to get their Visa's and be set apart for their missions.

On the same day Sister Cristina Petrisor returned from her mission to England and President Ashby had the privilege of releasing this sweet sister. She was tearful but at the same time joyful to see her family!

Cristina her sister Gabi, their father and President Ashby.

June 6th was President Ashby's ??th birthday! Office Elders Rose and McKinlay surprised us with a wonderful chicken dinner and apple pie to celebrate! Sora Hirghiligiu and Sora Nelson chipped in and helped with the final touches.
Our "resident artist", Assistant Elder Rigby, drew a beautiful likeness of President and Sora Ashby to commorate the birthday.
"Ummmm, my favorite.....Apple pie! The best birthday cake ever!" exclaimed President Ashby.
Our dear friend, Sorin Stanciu, also celebrated with us. The birthdays that occur during our missions are ones neither we, or our missionaries, will ever forget.

Oh yes, and not to be forgotten, the movers came this week and we spent several days messing up the house, packing, throwing away junk and just getting ready to have them haul our stuff away!
THE WAGON....of course we packed it! It has turned out to be a big hassel because of custom laws but we are doing our best to get it home! It left on a boat and if the USA doesn't reject it, the gypsy wagon will be in Utah by August!

Our LAST Zone Conference Tour

2008-06-02T01:39:00.000-07:00

These photos show all of our missionaries in their zones and the places we held zone conference during the last couple weeks of May 2008. The conferences were wonderful and the spirit was very strong. For our parent's sake, I am showing every conference and every missionary! See if you can find yours! Cluj-Napoca Branch building was the location of our first zone conference stop. This is the Transilvania Zone.

Tradition has it their that Assistants and President always wear the same Zone Conference tie. Elders Jepson and Rigby show off this Transfers tie.

Brother and Sister Mihai Iepure are expecting their first baby in July. These two are a strength to the Cluj Branch.

On our way to Arad for the second zone conference we stopped in Oradea and had a wonderful visit with Branch President Florin and Isabela Gembasu. Both are returned missionaries and are dedicated to building and supporting their branch. After arriving in Arad we held our Occidentala Zone Conference in the Arad Vila.

Sora McKnight, Petersen, Ashby, Jessee, Taylor and Harrison pose for one of our elders.

No, this is not a nuclear power plant! These are the towers they heat all the water in before they pipe it to the cities for thousands of homes. The government controls the hot water available to people.

President Fotea and his wife, Claudia, are the Branch President in Deva. (Our next stop on this zone conference route. We stopped to visit the branch and drop off supplies.)
It's fun to look at the church cemetaries and check out all the unique headstones. We finally arrive in Sibiu. It's a hot day so after interviews, we take the Sibiu elders advice, go to Centru and buy us each a 1 Ron ice cream cone....cheap and good!
Heading towards Brasov we go through Fagaras and can't help but take a moment to look at the beautiful old castle there.
The Brasov Zone....a great group of missionaries! This conference was held in the Brasov chapel.

Our special musical number was done by Elder Haddock, on the piano and voice, and Elder Harwood on the guitar. They sang a special farewell song to us and then did their own rendition of "We Are The Army of Helaman"....very talented!

That evening, after zone conference, our "past" Elder Banu :( took the Hanson's and I to a little house in a nearby village to visit a man known all over the country for his amazing sculptings.
His home alone was very entertaining but then we found......
a (very) Romanian Nativity set! We were so thrilled as many of the missionaries have looked for nativity sets here and they are just not to be found. Of course we each ordered a set from him and this treasure will long remind us of our time in Romania.

As we travel we stop in different cities to do interviews with the missionaries and deliver mail and supplies. On our way to Iasi we stopped in Bacau and while President Ashby was doing his interviews the elders challenged me to a game of ping-pong.....I did pretty well, considering!

After a day long drive our next stop was Iasi. Much to our surprise, the zone leaders chose this little gazebo in the middle of a lake for our conference. The Iasi zone is our biggest zone now and despite our best efforts we have not been able to rent a larger vila to house the branch and our missionaries. It was a rainy day but that too was a blessing as there were no people on or around the lake. It was very peaceful and quiet and a wonderful setting for our conference.

Quiet and peaceful. A beautiful place to feel the spirit.

The Rom-Est Zone missionaries. (Also includes our missionaries serving in Moldova)

Elder Stinson and Elder Toomey make me laugh as they try to pull off a stern look for the camera....so not like these two!
After leaving Iasi we drove to Galati to do interviews and speak in the Galati branch. This photo is of the Danube river. It is huge and we watched big oil tankers go down the river past our hotel.

Galati Branch President Prada, with his wife.
The Galati Branch
Evening on the Danube river
This tower overlooks the Danube.
Back to Bucharest! Zone Conference for the Sud-Est Zone.
Sora Poulsen, Lovell, Ashby, Kiss and Montague pose for Elder"Paparatzi"!
Next day in the mission home for interviews and cookies! Elder Johnson definitely had his share!
Elder Zemp teaching himself to play piano.
The cookie-brigade munch in the "garden" (a very tiny garden I might add!)

The Nord-Vest zone at the Mihai Bravu chapel.
Elder Platt learns how to make cookies. My zone conference talk was on the Word of Wisdom and missionaries eating correctly. I asked them all if they had their orange (or other fruit) for breakfast and if not they had to eat some before the cookies!

Elders Grant and Hale leave the mission home full (of cookies) spirit, and ready to work!

Couple's Conference in Brasov

2008-05-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

May 5th through May 9th we held our annual couple's conference in Brasov. Attending were (left to right), the Edwards, Hanson's Watson's, Hake's, Ashby's, VanNoy's, Jessee's, Bryson's and Sora Hirghiligiu. Unfortunately, the Jacob's and Sora Nelson could not be with us....we missed them!

Elder and Sister Watson organized and planned a wonderful conference for our group. The Watson's finish their mission the end of June and we want to thank them for their wonderful missionary service and a great conference.

The conference consisted of training for YSA, Outreach, Branch and Auxillary training, SA, Humanitarian work and how we can help and Public Relations. Everyone also gave a short Bio of themselves and several gave wonderful talks on assigned subjects. We learned a lot and when finished were able to spend a little time socializing. The photo above is in Poiana, Brasov where we had a wonderful, traditional Romanian dinner. Sora "H" (as the missionaries call her) stands in front of a wooden Orthodox church in Poiana.

In Brasov's centru Sister Winkler and Sora Ashby met up with Iuliana. Sister Winkler had met her that morning with the sister missionaries and had a serious talk with her about her life and the church. A few days later, Iuliana called President Ashby to tell him she was meeting with her branch president to talk about going on a mission. We are so happy for her.
The couple's were spoiled with delicious lunches during their meetings.

President and Sora Ashby met the new group of BYU girls from Iasi who are serving for the next three months in the Orphanages there. These girls are a wonderful asset to the branches where ever they serve. They jump right in, hold callings, teach, plan activities and are almost unofficial missionaries with the work they do. We were excited to meet and see this new group of girls. They will be a great asset to the members and missionaries in Iasi.

Not all the couple's went to Peles castle but, those who could fit it in on their way home, made a stop there. It is a beautiful place and was built by King Carol...a man who did much to build and strengthen Romania.

Another successful conference....a time to get to know each other and strenghten one another with our testimonies and teaching.

Transfer Day (Again!)

2008-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Transfer day was on April 30th and we lost another four great elders! Elders Valentine, Banu, Canfield and Selck visited Cismigiu Gardens, had dinner at the Ashby's, a great fireside together and said their farewells. We will truly miss these powerful young men in our mission.

Elder Valentine got a horrified look on his face as the reality of letting go his "tie" with the Romanian Bucharest Mission really hit home.

Our new bunch of missionaries arrive! We welcome Elder Bailey, Elder Barclay, Elder Eliason and Sora Shepard. Who is that woman next to Sora Ashby, you ask?.....Sister Geri Winkler....Sora Ashby's sister who came in with these incoming missionaries to visit the Ashby's for two weeks! We are excited for this new and enthusiastic group. However, of the four new missionaries, two of them lost their wallets enroute to Romania. I think they learned a hard lesson on watching out for pick-pockets!

Sora Shepard takes a little snooze before heading out to Transfer meeting and finding out who her first companion will be!

Last, but not least, we received another new and wonderful couple in the early part of April when Elder and Sora Edwards arrived as our new Humanitarian couple in Bucharest.

Easter in Bucharest - April 27th

2008-05-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

The Office elders, Rose and McKinlay, the Assistants, Linesenmeyer and Jepsen and President and Sora Ashby attend an Orthodox Easter Mass. We had to dress casual and not wear out name tags out of respect for their service. It was very interesting and amidst the hundreds of people there I realized that these elders were the ones who held true priesthood power....a humbling thought.

Easter eggs are colored red to represent the time when Jesus died on the cross and his mother, Mary, was in the market buying a basket of eggs when she got the news. She hurried to the cross and set her basket beneath her Son. The wound in his side dripped blood onto her basket of eggs.

President and Sister Bucur fed the Assistants and the Ashby's an Easter dinner in their home after we attended a special Sacrament meeting in the Ponduri building. Elder Jepsen and President Ashby "break" eggs together. President Ashby's egg beat out all of our eggs!

The Bucur's were generous and kind and made our day very special.

An Apostle Visits Romania

2008-04-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

This past week and a half has been a busy and very inspirational time for us, our missionaries and the members. It’s rare that you get one of the twelve apostles to visit your mission and even rarer yet for them to spend almost eight days with you! Elder D. Todd Chritofferson and his wife, Kathy, came to Romania and stayed with us in the mission home. Our schedule was very busy but one that exposed a lot of people to the teaching and testimony of one of the Savior’s special witnesses…a blessing that will be felt for a long time to come.
On the weekend of April 19th and 20th, the Christofferson’s presided at and attended the Bucharest District Conference. The Panduri building was full to the brim with people. Members listened to counsel from President Ashby, one of our area seventy, Elder Gorts, Sister Christofferson and then Elder Christofferson. A very special part of his talk was when he left an apostolic blessing on the members in Romania. There were quite a few tears shed. After the conference meeting on Sunday, Elder Christofferson held a question and answer meeting for all of the YSA. The young adults asked questions ranging from how he felt being called as an apostle to Word of Wisdom issues. Elder Christofferson has a quiet sense of humor and a humble manner when speaking. The youth loved him and would have continued with their questions all day if allowed.
On Monday the 21st, we held zone conference for the missionaries in the Bucharest zones and the Brasov zone. Elder Christofferson spent a few minutes teaching and then asked the missionaries for their questions. He referred them to Heb. 13:17 and told them that a Mission President watches over the souls of his missionaries. He said that this is no accident. The Lord intended that these missionaries would be with this mission president at this time. He told them that they would learn from President Ashby what they need to know at this time and in this place. The same goes for the couples. He also referred them to D&C 6: 9 and to D&C 18:10-15. He taught how we must have pure hearts and clean hands and be willing to let go of everything and lay ourselves on the altar of Christ and completely change whatever we need to change in order to fully submit ourselves to Him.

Well, he taught us much and then gave the missionaries time to answer all kinds of questions relating to missionary work….how to have the faith to find the elect……study time……discouragement……loving those who are rude…..etc. Once he started to answer a question it seemed as though he could teach for hours on just that one question. We learned a lot and everyone of us left with gratitude and humility over the sacred callings we hold.
Later in the afternoon we took a few minutes to show the Christofferson’s the “People’s Palace”, which is the second largest building in the world. After a short tour there we took them to the Peasant’s Museum to see some of the culture in Romania. Tuesday morning we left early, loaded the big van and headed out for Moldova. We had to get there for a fireside with the Branch members that evening and zone conference on Wednesday morning. The Assistants, Elders Jepson and Linsenmeyer followed us. They were our official “body guards”! On the way we picked up Elder and Sora Hanson in Ploiesti who traveled with us to Chisinau.
It took us about 9 hours to get to Moldova! The scenry was gorgeous and it was a beautiful drive but we were happy when we arrived. About half-way there we stopped at a village well for a rest and a little snack.
That night we held a fireside for the members and the Vila chapel was stuffed with members and investigators. The spirit was powerful and Elder Christofferson talked about how we must endure our trials and love all people as the Savior loves us. If we do this we open ourselves up so the Lord can bless us…and he will! Again, he left a powerful apostolic blessing on the people in Moldova and the members living here. Afterward he shook everyone’s hand and patiently allowed them to take photographs and speak with him. The spirit was very strong and the people here will also remember this night for a long time to come.
That night, when we arrived back in Bucharest, Sora Larson and Sora Betham fixed us a lovely dinner. We were so grateful for that!

On Thursday morning we got up Way Early and flew to Arad for another zone conference and Fireside.
Our Zone Conference was held Thursday morning with the missionaries serving in Arad, Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Deva. That evening we held a fireside in the National Theatre, a beautiful building that had a room big enough to hold the 125 people who attended. Again, the spirit was powerful and this was a very touching time for all of us.
Early on Friday morning we drove to Timisoara where the Christofferson’s caught a plane to London and their next assignment. We caught a plane back to Bucharest and immediately got working on Tranfer board---- this coming week is transfers, AGAIN!
This was a very special week for our mission and one we wanted to share with you!

Elder Christofferson said that if he lived to be 97 (like President Hinckley did) he would visit again for sure! But, for now, Goodby Romania!

Oh The Road Again....

2008-04-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

The first two weeks of April have consisted of many hours driving around the country doing an Interview tour. Normally we do this with each zone right after we have zone conference. Plans changed this month when we found out we were having Elder Christofferson come to Romania to preside over our District Conference on the 19th and 20th of the month. He then is going to do Zone Conference with us in Bucharest, Moldova and Arad. With the schedule we are on that week we have no time for interviews! So here we are, traveling the country. I won't comment much but thought I would share some fun photos of this trip.

We stopped to help some gypsies who were broken down. They were shocked that we would stop and were very grateful.An ancient tower guarding the pass between two mountains.
Farmers wave as we pass them on the road.
Timisoara round-about view.
Elders Chesley, Patterson, Horgmo and Bennett in fromt of the Timisoara Vila.
Spring is definitely here when we see all the Mama and Daddy storkes return to their nests!

Elder Kirk and Elder Rakozy in Arad say they love it here!

Time to fill up AGAIN! Sora Taylor and Sora Harrison show off the Arad Vila.

It's really spring! The farmers are plowing their fields. We had to take of photo of this one as he is actually using and ancient tractor and not a horse and plow!

Sora Petersen and Sora Ertel, along with Elders Manzione and Valentine of the Oradea district, cheerfully prepares their lunch!

Elders Rigby and Loveland pose with Sora Runyan Sora Thompson next to the Cluj-Napoca Vila.

This sweet lady in a little village showed me her wonderful collection of Romanian plates.
The BYU girls in Iasi who work in the Orphanage there.

The Branch Presidency and Relief Society Presidency from Iasi. We did interviews with our missionaries and attended Branch Conference while there. President Ashby and I both spoke there for our last time.

This member is a musician who sings and plays at restaurants and on the radio. He is very talented and has compiled and played his own compositions of LDS hymns. He gifted us with a CD of these hymns. It is very beautiful and was very generous of him.
Elder Stinson loves Iasi!

Great Couples

2008-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I want to quickly introduce you to two new couples who recently arrived in our mission. Elder and Sister VanNoy joined us the end of March and are now serving in Bucharest. They will run the Outreach Center in the Panduri building and also take care of Public Relations needs for our mission. We are so excited to have them with us.

Sadly, we lost the Reeds. They spent most of their mission serving in Moldova doing CES with the Youth but had an opportunity to spend the last 6 months of their mission in Bucharest. As much as we are happy for them to see their family again, we will sorely miss them. I don't have a picture of the Lofgreens here but they also left in March and we are sorely missing them!

Last, but not least, we welcome the Jessee's from New York to our mission! The Jessee' are serving in Arad and taking the place of the Watson's in the western part of the country. Much to their surprise, we moved the Watson's to Constanta for the last three months of their service. They are looking forward to a new adventure there! It is amazing how much good the couples do in the mission field. We wish every retired couple in the church would serve a mission. People here adore them and want to emulate them. They help the church grow and strengthen testimonies in so many ways!

Stinging Nettle

2008-04-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

On our journey we stopped for interviews in Brasov with Sora Bingham, Sora Rappleye, Elder Williams, Elder Waters, Elder Richey and Elder Campbell. While enjoying ANOTHER McDonald's lunch the Sisters explained the delicacy of eating Stinging Nettle! It sounded pretty scary to me but they swear it is tasty and very healthy for you! It's good for the sinus'and allergies, and is loaded with iron. (How can you beat that!)

Since Easter is the end of this month you will find signs In many restaurants exponding on the foods they have available for "the fast". This fast lasts for about 30 days and consists of giving up all animal products. This is practiced before Easter and is also done at Christmas time. I believe this is a cleanse for their bodies.

I think Sora Rappleye can explain just how to use stinging nettel and have posted the following video for that reason!
Well, are you ready to try some! :) Oh, be careful handling it! It can "sting" you even though it is only picked in the spring while very young and tender! I know----it got me! I had a hard time wondering how my tongue would handle that! Well, I guess you could add it to your "Emergency Survival information kit" for use in an emergency!

What NOT to do!

2008-03-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is Elder Banu....a wonderful example of a clean-cut, well-dressed, keep-the-rules missionary! As most of you know, elders must have their hair short, neatly combed and with a side part. YIKES! SO, WHAT HAPPENED HERE?
Yes, this is Elder Banu again! Just so you don't think he blatantly went on a rule-breaking binge, I have to assure this was an "accident"! Elder Banu is serving in Moldova. One day he and his companion were helping the Sister missionaries move and he found this bottle of hair stuff. At first he thought it was hair conditioner and he asked the sisters if he could have it. They said yes, but they didn't think it was conditioner---the language on the bottle was Russian or Hungarian and none of them could understand it. However, the sisters thought it was a product similar to NAIR, which is a hair removal cream. "Great!" he said, "can I have it? I want to put some on my part line in my hair and make the part permanent so I don't have to try to comb it in every day. Well, as you can see, he did a little more than make a thin part in his hair! Needless to say, he learned a hard lesson! The NAIR burned his scalp and after jumping around and trying to wash it out, this was the end result!
Elder Banu had no choice but to get a "bald" hair cut....not missionary approved, but necessary in this emergency! He is still a fine looking elder but one who has learned a big lesson and claims he will never try anything again without knowing exactly what it is and what it will do to him! (He allowed us to share his story in case it might help some other "innocent and unspecting" good elder!)

Out with the old...in with the new!

2008-03-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's always hard to say good-bye and on March 19th another set of fabulous missionaries went home....where does the time go?? Elders McFarlane, Carroll, Wirthlin and Haddow left us and made it safely back to the states by midnight on Wednesday. We will miss these fine young men and the service they gave in Romania!

However, at the same time we welcome a wonderful new group of excited new missionaries straight out of the MTC! New to our mission is Elders Collier, Foote, Hale, Rakozy, Anderson, and Smith. (This gives us three "Smith's" and three "Anderson's"!) Also, we welcome Sora Ertel, Sora Cannon and Sora Poulsen. They came tired but ready to go to work.

The next morning after the missionaries arrive we meet them at Cismigiu Park, read the dedicatory prayer and welcome them to Romania. We then take them to our home where we do an orientation meeting and President Ashby does interviews to determine where the Lord wants each of the missionaries sent. Of course we feed them a good lunch and then its on to Transfer meeting and the beginning of their Service. In this photo, Elder Anderson and Elder Collier go over their incoming-packet. They can't wait to begin!

Elder Rakozy plays the piano on the day he and these new missionaries arrive. We loved his compositions!

Mother's Day!

2008-03-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

No, it's not May yet but Mother's Day, or more commonly called Women's Day, is March 8th (today) in Romania! The Bucharest District held a Relief Society activity this afternoon for all the sisters in the District. We had three sisters speak about women and their roles and how we can be instruments in God's hands to do his work. They also cited the many women in the scriptures who have followed God's commandments with faith and courage and did much to bring about our father in heaven's work. After the speakers, each branch performed a talent or gave a reading or poem by one of their members. Seated at the piano in the red jacket is Sora Alexandra. She is a talented writer and gave a reading about her mother that she wrote. Afterwards Sora Mika Crasimena (not sure about the spelling!) played the piano and sang with three young people. At the end she sang a Russian folk song called "Calinka" (again, spelling is wrong!). This sister was born in Russia, raised in Bulgaria and then moved to Romania in 1976. Her name means "Sweet Peace" and she is very happy about that. The word "Calinka" is a flower in Russia and this song is about a young man comparing his girl friend with this flower. I only got a few minutes of the song but wanted to share a little with you so you could see the joy these sisters have in their music!

By the way, Women's Day lasts all month and everyone gives each other little flower pins. The friends, husbands and boyfriends all bring beautiful bouquets to their loved ones. I have to tell you that I got three bouquets today! What an honor! I feel so spoiled!

The "Donut" Fireside

2008-03-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Friday night, March 7th, our missionaries in the Panduri building held a fireside on the Atonement. They first held three rotating classes to teach about the importance of Service and then about the Savior's great atoning sacrifice.

To make their point on the atonement, they brought everyone into a room and held up a pan of hot, freshly made donuts by Sora Larsen, Sora Betham and Elder Valentine. They then asked everyone if they would like to have a donut and as the member took a donut they told them that a price had to be paid. The person taking the donut then told Elder Mielke he had to do 10 push-ups to pay that price so the person could have his donut. By the time everyone had a donut Elder Mielke had struggled through 200 push-ups! (By the way, he is buff! He made it!) The point of the exercise was the willingness of the Savior to sacrifice and pay for our sins that we might have eternal life. It was a great evening and the spirit was very strong.

Our three chef's, in their cute little aprons, did a great job! However, I'm not sure if they ate more than they gave away! They were pretty darn good!

Sora Iulita opens wide for another chocolate donut....Yum!

Finding old members

2008-03-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

During the summer of 2004 when Moldova was closed to our missionaries we had two sisters serving in Balti. The sisters had to leave fast. They couldn't even pack their bags. Elders later went there, packed up for them and sent their things to Romania. Since that time no one has served in Balti and we do have some members there. This past week we sent our assistants on a little journey to check out the city and find our "lost" members. This is a little bit or their report:
BALTI

Hello Sora Ashby! Here's our description of Balti. . Elder Selck & Linsenmeyer

(This photo is of the city center)
Balti is the second-largest city in the Republic of Moldova, although it seems smaller than Deva and Alexandria, our smallest cities in Romania! The name of the city is pronounced with a strong Moldovan accent and sounds just like “belts” in English. The drive to the city is very scenic; we drove on country roads and up and around big hills.

Everyone in Balti was happy to help us with directions, and one man even bought us a snickers and a soda because we were new to the city. It was a special experience to meet with members who had not seen missionaries in their city for years. The only barrier was the language—Russian is by far the prominent language. Fortunately, many of the youth speak some Romanian and were able to help translate for their parents. One of the coolest experiences was walking into an older member’s house and catching her with an open copy of the Book of Mormon and Liahona on her table.

Leap Year Day!

2008-02-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Remembering

2008-02-29T10:07:00.000-08:00

More favorite photos

2008-02-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

(Elder Johnston took this photo)

I'm back!

2008-02-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-02-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

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

2008-02-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

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.

Happy New Year! The snow missed Christmas Eve but yesterday it made up for all lost time! Bucharest isn't ready for this!

2008-01-04T10:23:00.001-08:00

Bucharest lights up!

2007-12-30T22:54:00.000-08:00

The Christmas spirit is strong in Bucharest this year! At least it is if Christmas lights are any indication! In the center of the city is the biggest Christmas tree in all of Europe! The tree has 1.2 million lights on it and is rather breath-taking to look at! The people look like little ants around the bottom of it! I tried to take a few photos and am sharing them here but they do not do justice to the tower-of-Babel like tree!

Our daughter, Nikki and her husband Bart Hiner came to be with us for the Christmas week! It was a real treat and so fun to have some family after the last few Christmases alone! Well, I really can't say "alone" as we have our missionary family with us all the time and we love them as though they are our own!

As a final thought, Christmas in Romania is very special to missionaries. We are truly living the spirit of Christmas. Our missionaries are giving the gift of Christ and bringing hope and light into the lives of many who have lived with sorrow. They are changing hearts and burdens are becoming lighter. The gospel of Jesus Christ is what Christmas is all about and it is a joy for us to experience this in Romania.

A CHRISTMAS Story of GRATITUDE

2007-12-25T03:13:00.000-08:00

We received this letter today and thought it most appropriate to share with you as a special, Christmas Day message...

"President – For our weekly report to you I have copied the email we sent out to friends/family this morning. We are so very grateful to be here serving under your leadership and with you and Sora Ashby!"

"It is early Sunday morning and I wanted to get this out while we have a minute or two. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Our apartment is decorated with a small crèche we finally found to buy and an 18” Christmas tree. I downloaded a bunch of Christmas songs from the Internet and we have been playing those on Joyce’s i-pod. And we will be doing Christmas things today and tomorrow – including going with the young missionaries caroling to less active members and investigators. And having the missionaries over to our apartment Christmas Eve for a program – we will likely put on some variation of the program our family does every Christmas Eve. We have had an eventful week – again. I think I will not recap it here this time, but instead relate one experience that we had this past week."

"It is cold here. Very cold. At least for us. Morning temperatures are in the teens and sometimes it doesn’t get any higher than mid 20’s during the day. That may not seem too cold to some of you. But when you are walking 3 – 5 miles a day in it, it is pretty cold! Last Tuesday morning as I got out of my shower, Joyce called me over to the window overlooking the garbage area (We are on the 7th floor of our apartment building). And there sat a little woman in rags by a fire she had made from the paper and cardboard she found in the garbage bins. The temperature was in the teens and my heart was broken. I decided I was going to break a mission rule – to not give to the beggars who are plentiful here. I guess technically, she wasn’t begging – just sitting by her little fire trying to keep from freezing to death. I dressed quickly and took some garbage with me to throw in the bin. And then walked over to this woman and handed her three 10 lei bills – about $12. That is many times what is normally given. She just looked at it as if she couldn’t believe it. Joyce was watching as I walked away and she said the woman just kept looking at me and crossing herself. As I took the elevator up to our apartment I began to think about the surprise gift that we had received last night when I discovered large insurance commissions had been deposited into our account – hundreds of times more than what I had given to this woman! In relationship to that, I had given her nothing. And as I came into our lovely apartment with its warmth and furnishings and food and kitchen range and oven and refrigerator and bathroom and hot and cold running water and bedroom and comfortable bed and me dressed in my warm overcoat and waterproof shoes I just broke down and wept. And wept. This woman and all of the countless ones like her here in Romania and throughout the world are, like me, a child of God. My brother and my sister. And for whatever reason, they have nothing of this world’s goods. Often times not even enough to survive. And me . . . ! And I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I had no right whatsoever to take or use more of the bounties of this earth than what is sufficient for my needs. And that everything I have ever been given or will be given belongs to the Lord and I have, by covenant, the responsibility to use it as He would use it if He were where I am, doing what I am doing. And I was saddened by how inadequately at times I have done this. I want to do better. And with His grace, I will."

"The great equalizer, of course, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our time here on this earth is so very fleeting. To know who we are and to be striving to become who we are capable of becoming through the Savior’s grace is all that ever counts. The warm coats and the comfortable bed and the bank accounts and the fires made out of paper and cardboard from the trash bins will all pass away. And all that will be left is who we have become -- a result of who we have wanted to become. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes sense of all of this. And without it, there is nothing."

"Jesus Christ lives. His gospel, with its declaration of our eternal nature and divine potential, has been restored. And we are so very, very blessed to represent Him in carrying this truth that means everything to these extraordinary Romanian people. We thank God for this privilege."

"We love you and pray for you and are so very grateful for your friendship. Have a wonderful Christmas."

Love

Elder Steve &
Sora Joyce Hanson

Brasov and Bucharest Zone Christmas Party

2007-12-22T04:35:00.001-08:00

Our last party was held on December 19^th and it was a big group! We had 65-70 people there. The games were great and the skits were amazing. We couldn’t believe the talents our missionaries have. The only bad part was that we had planned on 65 people for lunch and then made food for at least 80 but, we ran out! The last three or four elders didn’t get much food! Rosie helped us with our meal and she was devastated. I think she finally realizes what BIG eaters our elders can be! I won’t tell you who got the skimpy meals but even at that they were happy and made do with bread, salad and fruits. The following pictures give you an idea of the people who attended and the fun they had.

Elder Bryson, on the left, arrived in Romania with his wife the night before this party to start their mission in Romania They thought it was pretty cool we would have a big party just for them! Ummmm! ..... We decided to let them think positive thoughts!

Elder Valentine and Sora Davison get into the Christmas spirit!

Below are a few clips from our skits....again, none are complete but this will give you an idea of the talented missionaries in our mission!

Dom Dom …. Romanian Christmas Carol –

Ploiest District skit –

Elder Bringhurst and Elder Grant sing about a girlfriend

Rom-Est Zone party in Moldova

2007-12-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

After our missionary party in Arad we traveled to Chisinau, Moldova for the Rom-Est zone party. This was a little smaller group as it consisted of only one zone. We did it this way so Elder Kozlenko, our Russian missionary, could attend one of the parties. Unfortunately, his Romanian visa has expired and if he goes back to Russia to renew it he will probably be stuck there for about three months. For some reason it is difficult to get a Romanian visa from Russia. Fortunately, he was able to spend his first few transfers in Romania and from that point on he will finish his mission in Moldova. Of course that's where we need him anyway! His Russian language is very important in Moldova.

Our morning was full of games and everyone had a great time! Later, we enjoyed music, skits and or course, presents!
Just for fun, here is a clip from one of our skits....Elder Johnson (from Bacau) gets very animated telling about the day he had to attack a pair of badgers....self defense of course!

The Grand Prize puzzle, put-it-together-fastest, winners!
You would think they would get tired of the "tie" game but the elders love it.

The good-looking Rom Est zone!