6 Baptisms in a Month

There have been 5 baptisms in the Chisinau Branch and 1 in the Orhei Branch just in the 4 weeks that we've been here! Each convert has been so enthusiastic and attended everything possible since their baptism. One of them was a Russian Orthodox Priest until he got baptised. Incredible testimonies. A really awesome custom they have here is right after the person gets baptised and dressed they go up front and bear their testimony. The photo below is of Tonia who is the 3rd child in her family to be baptised. (Tonia and her sister are in between the Sister Missionaries who taught Tonia). She waited 7 years to be baptised because her father would not give permission and she had to wait until she turned 18 yrs. The chapel was full of friends and members to celebrate her baptism. That was last week. This week she is acting as a temporary missionary companion with a Sister missionary who is waiting for her new companion to arrive. The church is truely "rolling forth" here in Moldova. We had interviews with our Mission President, President Lundberg. He came in from Romania to interview all the missionaries. He has such a great vision for the church growth here.

Which Language to Use? Romanian or Russian?

The Holy Ghost speaks in Romanian AND Russian at the same time to members in the Chisinau branch! It is amazing. Sacrament prayer over bread is in one language and over the water it is spoken in the other. The talks alternate languages within the same talk...actually within the same sentence sometimes! The women's Relief Society is conducted in one with the lesson spoken in the other. The singing is wonderful as well-there are hymn books in both languages, the song #s are both posted, and we're perfectly comfortable belting out a hymn in English at the same time! Really fun. You probably can't see it in the photo but the name of the church is posted in each language on either side of the door. The natives here understand both languages and sometimes some English too. Most of the members speak one very well and avoid the other. There are 8 teaching missionaries here with 4 speaking and teaching in Russian and 4 teaching and speaking in Romanian. It's all crazy. Sometimes the sunday school discussions sound like people are angry or arguing because of the hard sounds of the Russian but the spirit speaks so strongly to everyone here. It really is an amazing experience.

OK OK ..So I'm Still in Tourist Mode...

I could not resist sharing these photos of the mother stork atop her nest which was on top of a telephone pole in the middle of a village town. I don't know where I got the idea but I had always thought the "stork carrying the babies" was just a fable or nursery story. Nope! They are for real. They really exist. The vehicles were crusing along and the stork just looked on.

City celebrates. Just Another Day in the Villages.

Today was the St George's Day parade. 98% of Moldova is listed as Russian Orthodox so there were lots of Priests involved in the parade.
The villages are populated with the poorest people of Moldova. They mostly still draw their household water from community wells like these two pictured. They grow their own food, raise their own animals, and help each other when they can.
The city workers are pictured here because we noticed they were cutting the city grass with cycles. Can you imagine city workers working that hard in the U.S.? The unemployment is extremley high here-so high that I heard 1/3 of the income here is from Moldovans who have left the country for work and send money back to help their families. Very desparate situation.

Getting Around Moldova is an Adventure

Tom is driving in a world where there are almost no rules of the road. Drivers go down city roads with no lines meant for 2 lanes but they use it like there were 3.
The signs are interesting too-one was a sign posted on the womens bathroom door at the mall for "no pinching women allowed". The roads outside of the city are in such terrible decay that many parts are barely passable and you have to literally drive on the sides of the road. There are sheep or cows or goats or horses grazing along the roads and occassionally a roadside stand selling various items. One day we startled a herd (or is it a pack?) of wild pigs. The largest one as big as a small cow and he sure could waddle fast. Tom has done incredibly well. He hasn't hit any animals or people and has figured out how to dodge all the other drivers and park on the sidewalks like Moldovans do. Some of our wheelchair recipients get around town in their chairs and one fellow even put a flashlight on the front and reflectors on the back so he could go out at night! The public transportation in the city is by electric trolleybus, bus, but mostly by "maxi taxi". They are 15 seater vans about 15 years old that carry about 40 people - with NO air conditioning. The cost is .25 USD and they run by about every 5 minutes so it is used alot.

Society of the Disabled Shoe Factory Visit

Elder Blaine Colton and Sister Chris Colton came from Frankfurt Germany to train us and get a feel for what Moldova is all about. I took a photo of them in front of our apt. One of our visits was to a favorte NGO partner of ours: The Society of the Disabled. We partner with them to distribute thousands of wheelchairs to needy Moldovans who would otherwise be homebound. Mihial, the president, is himself in a wheelchair as you might see in our group photo. One of the previous projects LDS Charities (our legal name in Moldova)did for the Society of the Disabled was to purchase new machines for sewing leather and attaching heels for their shoe factory. The disabled workers were making shoes with machines that were 60-80 years old! Pictured is one of those machines. The workers are so happy to have jobs and are quite proud of the shoes, sandles, and boots they produce. Elder Colton liked the heels on the ladies boot.