Dear Family,
Once again another week has rolled around and each seems to get busier than the one before. Even Sister Parker has now become aware of how close things are getting. Is it fair to say we're getting trunky if we start packing the trunks? It's amazing how much one can accumulate in just 18 months but we've now sent off two big boxes of stuff we don't want to put into the luggage and have one of our four large suitcases essentially packed and ready to go.
We spent a half day finishing up the apartment for the new family history couple that are arriving at some indeterminate time. Elder Parker spent 2-3 hours putting the IKEA purchased bed together, after correctly getting all the parts together and even got the bedding on it prior to Sister Parker's arrival as she was finishing a few things up in our apartment. He didn't admit until later that he'd forgotten the fitted sheet over the mattress and had to undo a few things to get back to that step but it really looked pretty good,in many respects we think it's nicer than the apartment we've been living in for the past year and a half.
We've been attempting to get an arrival date out of the mission office as to exactly when the family history couple is going to come but haven't been so advised as of yet. Our replacements, the Neugebauers, are supposed to arrive sometime this coming Friday and we definitely have to be moved out by then so they can move in. Our predecessors, the Strongs, stayed in a hotel for several days so we could move in without delay and we're secretly hoping we can move into the new apartment for a few days instead of going the hotel route. We certainly wouldn't mind having access to laundry and all the comforts we have now provided rather than having to live out of a commercial room, (though admittedly the included breakfast in the morning does sound tempting.)
In the meantime the normal activities have just been blazing along! We set a new record for the language courses on Tuesday and Thursday with a lot of new people coming in and Wednesday night Institute topped out at 46 plus a few stray adults walking around, augmented by 14 more after we included the young mothers and the young marrieds who come on Thursday morning and evening. Friday we lit up the Jack o Lanterns we made a week ago and had a couple of rousing sessions of Halloween Bingo totaling 29 people of whom 6 were investigators. It really seems like the work is rolling along and it will be exciting to give a good report to our replacements.
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Today was, of course, Fast and Testimony meeting and we decided to go to the International Ward. There was a combined Priesthood/Relief Society meeting led by the Bishop and a great Sunday school class afterwards. We have 4 new returned missionaries coming home this month, two of whom are already here and one of whom blessed the sacrament and gave the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting today. We hope he will be an enthusiastic encourager for the other young adults in the ward as they seem to be the only group we haven't been able to reach. They've even assigned a co-teacher as related last week from that ward. However he was in church today with his 6 children (four of whom are red-heads!) as his wife is heading to the States this week so he has his hands full and won''t be able to help out until next week. By then we'll have the Neugebauers in the trenches and we can probably get ready for our departure the next morning.
Everything seems to be in order. We have some good info on Prague but were a little concerned about exactly what we wanted to see in Budapest. We may have reported a couple of weeks ago that we received a lovely letter from the Area YSA couple who visited us on a Europe-wide tour to meet with all of the senior YSA couples. They included pictures of their visits with each couple and we were quite sure that the couple in Budapest were well known to us. We gave them a call this week and confirmed that we had previously both served together in a bishopric when our stake first initiated its singles ward. Acting on the Area supervisor's recommendations we obtained reservations at a hotel that we are now told is within walking distance of the church and they both live just across the street from the church. They have offered to show us around a bit so that reduces our anxieties considerably about what to see and do in Budapest and we will attend church with them on the 15th prior to our return and arrival in Vienna on the 17th. The next morning we will make the really big move and arrive the evening of the 18th, again at 6:58 on a United flight out of Denver.
For those reading this who may not know, our homecoming is scheduled for 10 AM on the 29th in the Highland 2nd Ward now meeting in a new location from where we held our farewell. The address is 10494 North 4720 West in Highland. Come up or down 4800 West by the Mount Timpanogos Temple or the American Fork Canyon road (11000 North) and turn on Ole Bish Lane.
[Sister Parker] Truly, it is hard to believe that we will not be in this apartment next Sunday. And although this apartment is small, it does seem there is a lot to do to get it all shined up for the new couple. There is just no time to wash the curtains, the rugs and shine the tile walls while still trying to live your daily missionary life. I now empathize with those missionaries who are cleaning out their apartments for transfer days and still need to do the missionary work. Oh well, we all just do the best we can.
Today was another good-bye time with the members in the International Ward. It really is marvelous the way we have instant ward family everywhere we go around the world, and they are people who are faithful in the Lord, Jesus Christ. We have finally come to know members in every ward that are special to us. We love them all and will miss them. With our young singles, I also feel like a mother hen who is about to leave her little ones alone in the nest, not knowing for sure just how they will fair. Of course, they will be fine, and of course they are all on "Facebook", and I've reassured them the next couple will also love them. It's that, they just keep tugging at my heart strings. But I'm ready and excited to see my grandchildren and children again.
Now as we travel around Vienna on the Bahns, I'm thinking this may be the last time I see this or that. The weather has been beautiful lately, so we are enjoying our last few days and being sentimental.
Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker
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