Surprise!

Elder Wykoff had me embroidery "BOY" on a pillow case for Elder Fanning as a surprise. There is an inside joke between them and Elder Wykoff calls Elder Fanning "boy" all the time. I wrapped it up real nice with bows, ribbons, balloons so he would never guess it to be a "joke gift". Fun!

You know it's been a busy mission day when...

...BOTH socks have holes in them at the end of the day!

Bucharest Romania for District Conference

A spiritual feast was had by all at the District Conference in Bucharest Romania. Day one we went by bus about 3 hours north of Bucharest to the summer castle of King Carol the First. Fabulous to put it mildly. We weren't allowed to take interior photos so you'll just have to believe us...it was amazing! Then we spent a day in workshops, sharing testimonies and stories, and announcements. Said goodbye to 16 missionaries who are going home. Sister Lundberg had everyone sing a medley of Sisters in Zion and Hellman's Army which she recorded and is putting on Utube for our families to see. It sent chills to hear the strength of the men's voices singing. Can't wait to see utube. We rode 6.5 hours each way in a van stuffed with 9 of us missionaries - it was great fun but next time I think I'll take the train with a sleeper berth!

Sona Stitches the Salt Lake Temple

Sona tried for 3 years to get the embroidery pattern for the Salt Lake Temple. I found it on the internet and downloaded it for her. She did a couple of sample stitch outs.

"I Have GOT to Get a Picture of THIS!"

While searching the Piata (pee-ya-tsah) for a cart to carry all the cloths & shoes we needed to buy for the children effected by the Prut River flood we walked into a meat market. I was so stunned when I stepped into the place that all I could say was "I have GOT to get a picture of THIS!" There must have been 5 tons of chicken spread out and who know how much pork hanging. It was amazing to see people picking up and weighing their own meat. It was mostly laid out on countertops. "Well, Toto, we're not in Krogers any more!" Ever wonder where Arnold the Pig from Green Acres went? Yup- he's right here in Moldova-we found him at the Chisinau meat market today!

Our 1st Water Tank Raising!

We've worked quite a few water projects that brought clean running water to a village but we've not attended the actual raising of the water tank until today. It's quite exciting to see.

The village of Firladeni is so excited to get water that many of the residents are already digging their trenches to the road for pipes to reach their home.







The old tank is smaller and will be removed. This photo is of the mayor of Firladeni, Tom, Lidea (the contractor), and Dorina (our translator).

Seseni Classroom on 1st Day of School

Some of the parents and their 3 year olds were at the school at 7:30am to greet us. We wanted to set up the classroom before they arrived.
Children bring flowers to their teachers on the first day of school. Really sweet to see.

We purchased tables & chairs then decorated the tables with balloons, crayons, pencils, and of course some M&M's. I embroidered hand towels for their bathroom. Happy Factory donated the wooden cars. Doesn't it look fun?!
Red-blue-yellow-green tables & chairs. Be sure to notice the hand painting on the walls that some of the village students did for them.
The moms helped their children settle in.
"WoW! School is fun!"
The toyshelf unit we provided along with toys and books.
Parents renovated the little bathroom and painted the towel racks.
I embroidered the 20 pillowcases with the school name. We also provided the mattresses, sheets, and blankets for their napping room. The top sheet is really like a huge pillow case that the blanket slides into. Great Moldovan idea!
Mrs. Bejan was the Champion for this project. All 4 of her grown daughters went to this school. One of her daughters (Katea) is our translator. Mrs.Bejan told us about this project. She said there were children who couldn't go to school because there was no classroom prepared for them. Today she is the Hero of Seseni! I made her a special gift to remember the day.
Katea and her mom showing the embroidery work I made for her. I told the parents, the mayor, the children and teachers about how important families are and gave them a copy of the Proclamation on the Family in Romanian. We told them how we beleive families can be forever and how we enjoy projects that help families.A happy day for Seseni school and for Mrs. Bejan and Katea.