Apostle, Birthday and Wheelchairs


Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice




Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles along with his wife Ruth and Elder Jack Gerard of the Europe Central Area Presidency and his wife Claudette visited Romania.  We had a District Conference where over 600 church members from around the country came together.  We also had the opportunity as a mission to spend a few hours with them the following day.  What a wonderful Spirit filled experience.




We stopped by the Mănăstirea Hadâmbu on our way to Bucharest.  Another beautiful structure.  Anticipating a very old church it appeared not that old.  As we were walking around after going inside, we saw the very old wall with an opening.  Of course we must go through.  Low and behold we found the old church!



Built in 1659.  I tried the door but couldn't get it open.  As I was standing there in awe, the door opened and someone came out.  The door was so heavy that I wasn't giving it what it took to enter.  Once inside we found several people praying and the priest reading some scriptures.  It is a very small and beautiful building and given the quiet moment felt it inappropriate to take photos.  Suffice it to say that it is awesome inside as well.









These are photos of the newer church, and it is equally beautiful in a newer way.  Sora Later and Sora Baker traveled with us on this one.  





Our district council and family home evening this week were eventful.  Ana Maria, a new friend, owns a Greek restaurant just down the street from our apartment and asked if we could all come to lunch.  So, for our district lunch we strolled down the street.  She put on quite a spread it was delicious. We gathered that evening for FHE and the cookies were a hit and we had great helpers.  We also couldn't pass up the opportunity to share the song practice the day before singing for Elder Renlund. 


We finished the week with a small birthday celebration at none other than Hard Rock Cafe of Bucharest.  It was a great day being able to set at the feet of an apostle in the morning and spending time with friends in the evening.  Best birthday I can remember for quite some time.




TENDER MERCY: We have been visiting Sora Genoveva and her son Ionuts at their home for the last few months because they haven't been able to come to church as Ionuts fell and broke his hip.  As we were visiting, she took us into the bedroom where he has been the entire time and showed us the scratches on the floor where she has to help him into a wooden chair with metal legs and drag him to the bathroom multiple times a day.  When asked if she could get a wheelchair, she explained that the agency they had been working with told them it would take three months. We were devastated!  When we got back to our apartment we reached to the Willard's (our Senior Couple over Humanitarian services) who recently returned home and asked for some advice.  They gave us a name of an agency they had worked with (ironically it was the same agency she had spoken with) and a contact person.  We immediately emailed the person and they responded quickly.  When we explained the situation, she said they have an evaluator in Iasi that could come check things out.  Within a day or so we were approved to pick up a wheelchair when we went to Bucharest for our conference.  The delivery was priceless.
Now the rest of the story.  As we arrived at the place to pick up the wheelchair, we noticed the Special Olympic signs on the building.  For those that may not know or remember, Carrie worked for the Special Olympic World Winter Games when they were in Idaho in 2009.  So, seeing the signs was a bit nostalgic.  We went in and they asked us to wait in a particular room, and someone would be with us in a minute.  As we waited Carrie noticed a collage of photos that drew her attention.  Recognizing them the tears began to flow.  It was photos of the Romanian athletes, many wearing the famous blue and white scarves at the 2009 games and in the center was a photo of the Idaho Center in Nampa where the ceremonies were held.  This was a clear indication that Heavenly Father knew where we were and that we were doing what we needed to be doing at that exact moment.


Last but not least, the Boba patrol for the week.










 

Comments

  1. Brenda LeavittMarch 9, 2026 at 3:53 PM

    Such colorful beauty surrounds you!!Love your journey!!!💞

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inter-Mission

Image
It is with heavy hearts we say good-bye to our beloved Mongolia and the many friends we have made in such a short time.  These memories will forever be with us as we depart to begin a new adventure.  Our untimely departure was based upon a couple of situations, namely the tax implications for senior couples with the requirement to register to pay worldwide taxes and the fact that Carrie injured her knee just prior to our time limit with the taxes.  We received an MRI which showed a torn meniscus which would require surgery.  Three doctors reviewed the results and all concurred that it looked like surgery was imminent.  So, with that news we returned home, at least to Utah, to have the expected surgery.  We were able to get an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon the week after returning.  At the initial appointment he took a look at the MRI, twisted the leg a bit and then told us that he didn't think it would require surgery and that we should be abl...
Read more

Welcome to Romania (week 1.5)

Image
Welcome to Romania We met up with the Elders and Sisters coming from the MTC in Minneapolis and arrived in Bucharest Romania on the afternoon of July 9th.  We were greeted by President and Sister Fowler and office staff.  Happy to be on the ground again. In order to keep everyone, awake as long as possible, we took a stroll around the city and caught a few sights.  I couldn't resist, taking up the rear, and following a small but powerful army of God. We first went to the "Square" where the revolution took place in December of 1989.  Many lost their lives but ultimately democracy won out.  The cross is a monument to the miners who lost their lives that came to help in the cause. There is no shortage of old structures, especially churches that have remained for centuries.  They are gorgeous and many are still in use today. The ultimate goal of the evening was to get some traditional food, and it did not disappoint.  Sarmale, pork and rice rolled in sauer...
Read more

Tis the season

Image
Let the celebrating begin The lights of the Christmas market were magical.  We had a wonderful and relaxing evening enjoying the sights and sounds of the Holidays. We stopped by a local artisan gathering, purchased a few things and even tried on the sheep skin.  It was fairly cold out and I was just standing there visiting with his wife in the booth and this gentleman walked over to me took off the skin and put it on me.  He then grabbed a hat out of his booth and stuck it on my head.  The thing was crazy heavy.  He told us it was 25 kg, that's about 55 lbs.  It was all of that.  Would have preferred keeping it on but he wanted it back. For our weekly District Council, we combined it with a service project and filled bags with a few items.  We had fun filling them and each companionship took a few out to distribute. We enjoyed an evening meal, gifts and PJ photos.  Geani was a good sport and jumped right in.  We love him and he is such a...
Read more