Sunday, December 21, 2014

 Laci with our beautiful sisters in our kitchen.  Laci is our most recent convert.  He is a chef and ofefred to cook a Hungarian Meal for us.  He made porkolt, nokedli, cucumber salad, fruit soup.  Delicious!!
 Laci is teaching Sister Cropper how to make nokedli.

 Bailey's are the senior couple serving in Miskolc.  They are auditors for the church and travel quite a bit to neighboring countries  The served a YSA mission in Hungary 2 years and did a little Christmas play with the YSA so we decided to do it also.  They came down one day to show us what they had done with their set and it really added a lot to the play.    While they were here we went to the main square in Debrecen and saw the Christmas market and lights.

 YSA gift exchange with Michael conducting. 
 Another cook in the kitchen.  Flavio is from Brazil and offered to cook Sunday lunch for us--Brazilian style.  He made beans, ribs, and rice.  It was nagyon finom.
 Laci's baptism.  He was baptized by Elder Zwingly and is the sisters investigator.  He is really great--comes to everything, even passed the sacrament today.

 We had a little piano recital and they all did wonderful.  These are my students and I love these girls; I hope they will be able to continue with lessons. Dori, the twenty-year old has only taken two months and has progressed pretty fast.
 On the train to Budapest--catching up on some sleep.
We went into Budapest to Zone Conference/ Christmas party.  We went a day early so we could go to the Christmas Market.  They have lots of booths and they are real artists and craftsman.




 Elder and Sister Jensen met us and we went back to the market at night.  That is Elder Steel btw.


 We love zone conferences.  They are so uplifting and we get some good training.  This zone conferene was combined with the Christmas party.  After the training and farewell talks (that's us) we had dinner, played games, and Mikolus came.



 On our way back to the train station we took the villamos to Margit bridge which has a beautiful view of the parliament building and other landmarks of the city. 



 The train ride home.  We love our missionaries.  They are what I will miss the most when we go home soon.
 I love taking the train.  I slept most of the 2 1/2 hour trip back.
 We go with the elders quite often on their programs.  We went to Ezster's on our weekly visit.  She was baptized last June and the missionaries continue visiting and teaching new converts for about a year.
 All of Hungary is full of these 10-story communist buildings.  They are quite an eye-sore.  The missionaries tract in them quite often.
 Pumpkin-fennel soup.  Love that bowl. Hungary has really beautiful restaurants and they always serve their food so beautifully.
 The Baileys came down again to watch our little production.  They were so nice to be supportive and said everyone did such a great job--which they did.
 The play was called "The Locket."  It has a cast of about 12.  We practiced for about two months and as always it came together well on the night of the performance.
 Afterwards we sang Silent night and had a little nativity scene with the missionaries and the Lovacsi family.
 A big crowd came--the biggest crowd I have every seen in the branchhouse.  We had investigators, inactives, Engllish class people, and branch members. 



 The cast and technical crew.  Me, Sister Cropper, Elder Steel, Csaba, Dori, Eszter, Csabi, Michael, Anna, Roberta, Angela, Lilla, Dori.  .
 Afterward we had a potluck meal.  Everyone brought whatever.  Lots of typical Hungarian food.
Little Tibor, Tibor, Ilona, Edina, Me.  This family are not members but they come to lots of things and are good people.

Sunday, December 7, 2014

 Lovacsi Family.  A wonderful, active family.  The girls are my piano students.
 Here is Debrecen District plus Michael before transfers.  Steels, Michael, Elders Zwingli and Cannon, Sisters Williamson and Cropper.
 Group Hug.  They love Elder Steel (Grandpa Virgil)
 Hooray for Thanksgiving.  Round two.  We had another Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving day and invited the YSA and the missionaries.

 Barbi Abrok, Sister Dohm, Sister Cropper, Elders Zwingli and Martindale, Michael, Roberta, ElderSteel
 Michael and Elder Steel just chillin'.
 Our darling new sister, Sister Dohm, from Minnesota--just 19 years old and an amazing young sister.
 Our new greenie, Elder Martindale from Boise, Idaho and Utah.  He is just eighteen years old and is doing great.
Debrecen team--Elder Zwingli, Elder Martindal, Sister Dohm, Sister Cropper.  We love 'em!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Hooray for Thanksgiving day!

 We had our Thanksgiving a little early.  It isn't celebrated in Hungary so it really didn't matter.  We had our dinner with the whole zone after zone training in Miskolc.  There are four senior couples in our zone we just divided food assignments up which made it really easy.
 Our sweet Sister Sholley was transferred to Eger but is still in our zone.  So we got to see her there.  Sister Naegle was also there.
 The elders' table.
 Sister's table.
 The Herds (who are going home in a week), the Jensens, the Steels
 After the dinner, we went to Lillafured one last time.  Jensens are being transfered to Sopron so we won't see them anymore--just once more.

 Beautiful Lillafured


 The Elders
 Sister Cropper is our newest missionary.  She is co-senior with Sister Williamsen.  They have only been in the country 6 months which is really young in the mission.  But they seem to know the language well and are doing great!
Our current group.  Sister Williamsen, Sister Cropper, Elder Cannon, Elder Zwingli.  (Elder Zwingli  got his tooth knocked out while playing soccer.  He is in the process of getting it replaced but has fun with being toothless.)  We love our missionaries!!!!