YSA and tender mercy's

There is beauty all around

Peleș Castle, located in Romanian's Carpathian Mountains near Sinaia, is a masterpiece of German New-Renaissance architecture built between 1873 and 1914 for King Carol I.  Famous for being the first European castle with electricity.  It features over 160 opulent rooms with intricate wood carvings and stunning stained glass.  It is often referred to as one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.  It did not disappoint.

Bran Castle, was built by Saxons in 1377 who were given the privilege by Louis I of Hungary.  It is a national monument and landmark in Transylvania.  Marketed outside Romania as Dracula's Castle, it is presented as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897). 

Brașov, is located in the central part of the country and is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians and is part of the historical region of Transylvania.  

Our Young Single Adult mini conference in Sibiu was a huge success.  They always love being together and have so much fun.  This conference finished the same way as our last one in the fall with a baptism.  Cris, a new YSA and now new member of the church.  We loved attending the Sibiu branch on Fast Sunday.  The YSA doubled their attendance.  The members warmly welcomed us and they bore powerful testimonies.  What a wonderful way to cap off the weekend.

Sibiu, between 1692 and 1791 and 1849–65, Sibiu was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania. Until 1876, the Hecht house in Sibiu served as the seat of the Transylvanian Saxon University. Nicknamed The Town with Eyes for the eyebrow dormers on many old buildings, the town is a popular tourist destination. It is known for its culture, history, cuisine, and architecture. The city is quintessential Eastern European, and beautiful in every way. 

We had a great P-Day exploring the city, with Sora Davis, Sora Folkman and Varstnicul and Sora Rigby. We expected to see Belle step to the blue shutters and belt out a tune.  The brutǎrie (bakery) were amazing!  Even the McDonald’s was quaint.  Behind the gates were ally ways that lead to homes surrounded be courtyards.  Yes, we felt like someone was watching us with the eyebrow dormers.  The large church, which happens to be Luthern rather than Orthodox, given the German influence, has seven organs.  Photos of a few of them and our tour guide Stefan, played one of them for us. 

Tender mercy story.  When we received our call to serve in Romania our cousin Katy mentioned to us that her dad, Frank, was born in Romania and that she had a cousin that lived somewhere in Romania.  We knew very little other than her name was Lili.  At the time we didn't know exactly where.  Fast forward a few months and Elder and Sister Rigby from Moscow Idaho arrived in our mission and we were able to spend some time with them.  In a random conversation he mentioned that a friend from Moscow had a niece that lived somewhere in Romania.  As I dug a bit into this friend and the niece piece, it was determined that we were speaking about the same person.  His friend, Frank, is Katy's dad and Lili was the cousin/niece and......she lives 30 minutes from them!  They were able to meet her and her brother a few weeks ago.  We drove through Brasov on our way to the Sibiu YSA conference and stayed with the Rigby's.  On our way out of town, we were able to stop and meet them.  What a wonderful, spirit filled, meeting.  They are wonderful and it is very apparent that Heavenly Father knows all of His children and is aware of their individual needs.

This week's Babă patrol had to literally stop for this little Moș (man).  He was headed across the street to check out a hole that was being dug.  Every construction project needs a supervisor.