Eating out with Elders Nyman and Cutler.  Elder Andersen was in his last week.

 This is our sewing class.  We are doing a hand sewing projeclt but now our sewing machine is here and we can get serious.  Elders Brown and Cutler are the star students.

 Eniko, Teamea, Rozalia--mother and daughters who haven't been active for a while.  Hope we can get them back.

 Dear Agnes.  She is a Family History Missionary.  She wants to teach the missionaries how to cook hungarian.  She made a dessert for us call Turo  gomboc.  It was soooooooo delicious!  Kind of llike cheesecake only better.

 All of us gathered around, eating this wonderful dessert.

 On Elder Andersen's last week he spoke in church.  Several people came to hear from talk.  There was a cute family, the Toths, from Tokai who aren't members but love him anyway.  This handsome young man was found and taught by Elder Andersen.  He was baptized and is a rock!  We had them all to Sunday dinner.

 We were so surprised but Sister Michaud was transferred!  She is going to another city to be the companion of a new senior sister missionary. We will miss her but hope she is really happy there.

 We visited a member, Sister Abrok, and when we got there she had a wonderful meal prepared for us--gouyash, homemade bread, pallacsintas, and this wonderful sweetbread below.  So sweet!

 Wednesday morning we decided to take our morning walk to the train station to say goodbye to Elders Andersen and Brown.  It was a national holiday and the streets were deserted.  We passed a flag ceremony on the way and stopped to watch for a few minutes but we didn't want to miss the elders so we hurried on

 Goodbye Elder Andersen!  Well done!  Have a safe trip home and a happy life.

Goodbye Elder Brown.  He was here when we came to Debrecen and has been here the whole time with us.  We will miss him but hope to see him at future mission conferences.  He was transferred and has about a year left.

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

 Debrecen is extra beautiful right now with the fall colors.  This is the tree-lined street that runs alongside our apartment. The photo doesn't do it justice, but all of Debrecen looks just like this.  I'm getting my fall fix.

 These are some less-active sisters that we visited last Thurday.  The two older ones are sisters and it was both of their birthdays that day. Rozalia on the left, her daughter Eniko in the middle, Olga on the right.  We had a good visit (I just listen a lot but can't understand much).  We took them each a little cake and sang Happy Bday,  Elder Andersen gave them a thought about the plan of salvation. 

 Elder Steel, Elder Nyman, Elder Andersen, Rozalia, Enika, Olga.  Olga also had a photograph of Elder Josh Kreitzer, my nephew who was there about 12 years ago.

Virgil tracting with Elder Cutler.  I'm with Elder Brown on the opposite side of the street.  They are very nice to let us go tracting with them.  We always go back to this same area.  Nice little homes, barking dogs, interesting fences; we usually find friendly people that will come to the fence and visit.  The elders usually are able to make a few appointments to come back. 

 We traveled to Miskolc again on Saturday for Zone training.  The zone leaders do such a great job.

After zone training we went to Lilla Fured again.  It was absolutely gorgeous with fall colors. 

 Herds went with us this time.  They are the senior couple in Eger and are in our zone.

 We ate lunch in a sidewalk cafe (the temperature was perfect) then walked around the grounds of the hotel.

 Gorgeous!

 Skipping now to Sunday.  This was primary today.  Elder Cutler who came to translate for me, Eszter, and Michael. As part of sharing time we made missionary sack puppets that they are all coloring. (I love the site SugarDoodle for primary ideas)

 For Sunday dinner we invited the branch president and his family.  His wife isn't a member and his two sons aren't active. We were glad they came. They are really nice and seemed to like our American taco salad.

The other half of Sunday dinner. Szabos, an investigator, Sisters Weberg, Kennedy, Oberhansley, Elders Andersen, Brown, Cutler, Nyman, Sister Michaud.

October, my favorite month of all

 Last Saturday we walked to this huge "craft" fair.  There were booths that went for blocks and blocks.  A branch member had her paintings in a booth.  We didn't see it all because it was so big but we bought a couple of items.  We have had gorgeous weather for the past few days.  This was one of those days.

 At first I thought this was a cheese booth, but it wasn't.  I'm not sure what it was--something from a pig maybe.  Anyway I thought it looked interestin.

 We heard the most beautiful music playing and I thought it sounded like music from Bolivia.  Sure enough, "Music from the Andes" in Hungary

 I bought a pair of snowboots from this gypsy woman.  I thought she looked colorful and asked if we could take her photo.

 I've got to find the recipe for this!  They are SO good.  Some kind of crispy fried potato pancake.

 For Sunday dinner we decided to try something Hungarian.  The elders said they knew how to make Rakott Krumpli (stacked potato).  It had layers of potato, onion, peppers, tejfol (similar to sour cream) eggs, sausage, cheese. I asked Elders Brown and Cutler to help assemble it in between conference sessions.  It was really good.  Pretty simple, pretty foolproof.

 For P-day yesterday we went on a hike.  We took the train to the quaint little town of Tokaj about an hour and 15 minutes away; it are famous for wine.  Fourteen of us went.  This is a well in the middle of town.

 Here is the group before the hike.

 Elder Steel, making his way up the trail.  It was pretty steep, not many switchbacks.

 Resting halfway.  Sister Weberg is on the right.  She is a real hiker.  Can move out with the best of them.  I kind of take the slow and steady approach.

 At the top.Virgil looks like he is in pain but he's not.  (Not until later that is)

 Here is the group.  L-R Sisters Ruperd, Falstav, Weberg.Elders Andersen, Cutler, Brown, Gaytan, Nyman, Sisters Operhansley and Steel.  Elder Steel, Sister Kennedy, and Elder Judd.  A really fun group.

 This is a snapshot of the town below, but it's not a good picture.  It was pretty misty that day.

A cemetery on the way up, nestled into the hillside'

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I felt bad I didn't have my camera today (Tuesday) because it was one of my favorite days.  We have a member who is in the hospital and had just chopped a big pile of wood.  He wanted it moved today; so they did what Elder Nelson said, "Ask the Missionaries."  We were really happy to do it.    We  went with the young sisters,( Sisters Operhansley and Kennedy who we dearly love,)  and had a really hard time finding his home (it wasn't on the GPS) but after asking several people we finally found it.  It was the back roads of Hungary; probably like the back roads of Tennessee.  I loved it!  Dirt roads, farm animals, Hungarian homes (some shacks), mangy dogs, unkempt yards, very rustic, very beautiful.  It took four of us about 1 1/2 hours to stack the woods  It was a beautiful, warm, sunshiny day.  And me without my camera!

Viszlat!

What's happening in the beautiful city of Debrecen.

 Sunday dinner--this day our guests were Janos (he is getting baptised) and his mother (the lady next to Sister Oberhansley on the left) and Czaki Czaba, a branch member (in the dark suit on the right) and Michael next to him, a Taiwanese student attending Medical school in Debrecen.  He is an investigator and has a baptism date set for November.  Hungarians always bring something when they are invited to dinner.  Janos' mother brought a delicious little cheese biscuit and Czaba brought a drink.

 The villamos, the light rail that runs in front of the church and our apartment.  The stop is right in front of the branch house.  We don't ride on this much because we have a car and walk most everywhere anyway.  We just found out we can ride it for free (we think) because we are over 65.  That would be nice to be able to jump on it anytime--especially if we can take the train to other towns for free.   We will see.

 

 This is a very nice investigator, Szabos.  He is about 29 years old and loves nature. He stopped to chat with us while we were tabling in front of the church (handing out English class flyers and pass along cards.) The elders picked mushrooms with him (big giant things) and guess who got them.  We didn't dare eat them though

 Elders Cutler and Brown chowing down. This was after district meeting in Niredghaza.  The elders there discovered a great place that serves real American hamburgers--so we all went--all 16.  I think we overwhelmed them though  because it took forever to get our food, but they were really good

 Same place

 The Steels with their giant American hamburgers.

 The district, waiting at the light afterwards.

 The beautiful church on the square at Niredghaza

 I tell them to act natural--no posing shots.  This is pancake night and game night-- Friday night,  We are trying something new and opening it up to more people than  just YSA

 Sister Michaud flipping pancakes,  Elder Cutler at the end.

 Playing "spoons."  A wild and crazy game.

A BAPTISM !!! We really had a baptism.  Debrecen hasn't had one since December.  The sisters met him through English class.  That is where they get a lot of their contacts.  They started teaching him in August and he was really ready.  He was baptized the end of September.   His name is Toth Janos.  A really sweet man--37 years old.

LtoR Elder Brown, Elder Cutler, Sister Oberhansley, Janos, Sister Kennedy, Elder Andersen, Elder Nyman.

 Janos, already to be baptized.  Our branch president baptized him.

 After the baptism we went into town to this event that one of our branch members told us about.  It was sponsored by organic or natural farmers.  They had big pots of authentic Hungarian food they were cooking and then served it.  The people there were really friendly.  I think we just blend in but we don't--when they hear us speaking they like to talk to us to find out what we are doing in Hungary.  We passed out a couple of pass-along cards.  It was a really beautiful night and I love these cultural type things.  I love trying Hungarian food.

 This woman is frying a type of potato pancake.  This was our favorite.

 Sister Bartha is the branch member who told us about it.  She was involved in it.  She is serving something made from eggplant that was really delicious.  

We visited the Bartha's a few days ago and she had supper already for us.  It was lecso, a traditional Hungarian dish that was really tasty.  I forgot my camera that night.  Hungarians are always very hospitable and have something for us to eat when we visit. 

 Another big pot of something cooking--maybe gouyash.  We didn't get a chance to try this.  The man cooking it was really friendly.  He was a goat farmer and makes cheese.  He said when you live in the country you are closer to God (when the subject turned to religion.)  He knew a Mormon a few years ago.  It seems everyone has had some kind of contact with the Mormon church.  Those Mormons get around.

 My Primary children.  Atilla who is 8 years old.

Eszter who is 9.  Sweet children.  

We had Eszter's family to Sunday dinner but I forgot to take pictures.  It's the same family that had us to dinner a few weeks ago.