Virgil and Alice's Excellent Adventures

 Elder Miller's Bday cake.  Twenty one years old! 

On June 9th there was a Hungarian holiday.  We went to Nyiregyhaza with the Jensens to a little Hungarian village.  The best way I can describe it is that it was the Hungarian version of Nauvoo.  They demonstrated traditional skills in traditional houses and the home wee decorated with authenic Hungarian furniture.  They also had people doing crafts and teaching thme.  It was a fun day.

 This is the baker making gingerbread(?) cookies and giving out samples.

 The shoemaker

 They have a Hungarian fabric that is dyed blue and then a white design in stamped onto the blue.  The stamps are in the picture below.

 The barber shop

 This man was making flowers from willows.  Elder Jensen gave it a try.

 This lady showed us  how to make dolls from reeds.

 The willow flowers

 This lady demonstrated cloth dolls.

 Puppet theater

 I liked the looks of this garen and the barn/stable below--thatched roof, twig sides.

 The village blacksmith

The cemetery

A genuine gypsy wagon (I think)

 Eating lunch in an outdoor cafe.  My favorite thing to do.

 On to another day.  Our sweet sisters, Sistesr Rupard and Jensen on the train to Nriregyhaza.  We went there on a Saturday to play soccer with the YSA there.  The Liahona was sending photographers there to take pictures for the Liahona that will come out in December.

 Michael and Demi on the train.  Demi wil be baptized in about a week.

 The intense soccer game.

 Elder Steel trying out the zipline

 Just posin'

 A successful pryamid by the young men.

 The girls struggled--there were more of them.

 They finally opted for a smaller, easier version.

 The picnit afterwards

We found a rest home where we could do some service.  The people there said we could come tell about our church, put on a program, bring treats.

 The sisters talking about our church.

 Elder Miller accompanying the missioaries and the two Michaels singing I'm a Child of God.

 We brought a little keyboard so Michael could play a couple of numbers.  He plays by ear and has some really beautiful pieces that he plays.

 Elder Miller's goodbye lunch.  His days are numbered.

After lunch in front of the Csokani theater.

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 We had a baptism  The Elders found Ester a couple of weeks ago and she wanted to be baptized right away.  They finishe teaching her the lessons and she asked Elder Steel to baptize her.  He practiced and practiced saying it in Hungarian and he did great.

 The Barta family in the branch invited us all over to have bogracs.  That is a very Hungarian way of cookiing and we ate a very Hungarian food- - gouylas.  It was delicious.

 Their backyard is lovely, lots of flowers, a nice little garden, a covered table  The night was perfect weather also.

 The dinner crowd.

 This district's final meal and final picture together.  We had Steel breakfast.

I discovered in the RS closet the other day a bunch of felt scraps and finger   puppets.  I had a great idea of what I could do with them--make quiet books and have my little activity girls help. ! I will leave them at the branch and children can pick them up and play with them during Sacrament meeting. 

 It ended up taking quiite a bit of time.  I got the ideas from pinterest  Left--flower petal counting and right--plant a garden and harvest the into the basket

 Build a SANDWICH AND A memory game

 Color matching and a barn full of animal fingerpuppets.

 Butterfly lilfe cycle and Humpty Dumpty puzzle..

 Noah's ark full of animal finger puppets and button the flowers

 A fly-catching frog and a lacing bee

 Sort the socks and make funny faces.

This is our new elder, Elder Whiting.  He is from Cache Valley and has been  on a mission for almost a year.  He was one of the 18 year old missionaries  who came right out of high schol.  We are very fortunate to have him--he is a great elder with a sweet humble testimony.