Friends, Festivals and Farewells

Gathered as a hen...

The sky from our apartment was awesome this week.  The thundershowers have been amazing.  This is just another reminder that God is aware of us and that he shares the "beauty all around".

We caught a few more local churches around Iasi.  These two are some of the older ones.  They were built in the 16th century.  The video inside the first one shows the old stone walls without paintings.  The other video shows the wall around the church and the attached cemetery, which most of them have.  This little, and I mean little, baba was precious.  She was making her daily rounds with respect.

In the midst of our busyness our grandson Tyson graduated from high school.  When we originally left, we had intended on making it home for this event but due to circumstances beyond our control we had to watch it from afar.  We were able to capture a few photos online.  We really had good seats.  We are proud of him and are anxious to see where the next chapter takes him.  

We had a district service project at a friend, Alin's house in the country.  The sisters rode with us and on our way stopped at a castle.  We didn't know at the time that it was under construction, but we still got the experience and the atmosphere of the surroundings.  The forest is old and beautiful.  The video is a baby stork which had apparently fallen from the nest.  He obviously didn't fly! We are seeing them in all of the nest boxes as we travel.  They are preparing to make the arduous journey back to Africa in the fall. Alin has been a friend of the missionaries for a long time.  He is an Orthodox Deacon and has become a great friend to the church.  He has helped with understanding Orthodoxy, language and culture.  He has even been a part, from time to time, where they will call him from the MTC and have him answer questions of the missionaries.  He has a beautiful home where his parents and grandparents have lived for years.  The home is around 200 years old.  He fed us lunch from everything produced on the property, chicken, fried eggs and mici.  It was a wonderful experience.  After the service project and lunch, he joined us for our district council in a very small room in his house where the walls were covered with religious pictures and mementos.  I couldn't help but capture the hen with her chicks. It reminded me of the verse in Matthew where the Savior said,...I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings...  His comforting reach is extended to us all.

President and Sister Fowler made one last visit to Iasi before returning home.  We spent a wonderful evening with them as they said their goodbyes.  They have been a blessing to so many here in Romania.  They will be greatly missed.

The annual cherry festival was a splash of color.  We met Sora Maria at the park and enjoyed walking around with her.  We especially enjoyed the traditional music and dance.