July 1, 2018

A Third Hungarian Goulasch

Well, it is Sunday afternoon and we are awaiting the telecast live of the Music and the Spoken Word broadcast which we can get online.  9:30 AM there is 5:30 PM here but it’s always fun to hear the choir for an hour prior to the live broadcast, especially with pictures of the family still mixed in. We see Aunt Kate quite a bit, Laurel a little less, our missionary co-worker Kathleen Lindsay quite a bit and many others. It always provides a nice spirit to our Sundays.

Of course, it’s Fast Day today and we had a wonderful testimony meeting. I still have the opportunity of translating everything that is said into English and sometimes that can be pretty tricky. Most of the members speak distinctly enough but there are a few where it’s pretty tough to keep up with what they’re saying, at least to hear it while still speaking about their last sentence. I’m always impressed with people who do this for a living. I don’t know that it was a blessing for the others, but the microphone gave out the last 10 minutes or so and was just broadcasting static, so it gave me the opportunity to just listen and enjoy. Two of the members, one a sister, and the other a brother, spoke about members of their families who are struggling with their testimonies, in both cases their children. I thought of our family as there are a few who, to differing degrees, no longer believe or accept everything they once did. We pray for all of you on a regular basis. Life certainly provides challenges and our many imperfections make others struggle as we interact with them in less than ideal ways. Nonetheless, rest assured that we know the Gospel is true, that we have eternal covenants that bind us together and we stand ready to answer any questions one might have.

I was thinking the other day of how little we understand about infinity. Our lives have beginnings and endings, bounded by time. We really can’t comprehend an end to space, or that there really is no end. An eternity of progression makes it possible for God to tell us what is required to live as He does. Working in the temple makes that a daily reality for us as we review over and over again all the promises and blessings He has given us if we will simply make our best effort to live according to the covenants we have made with Him.

As to the past week’s activities, we had our third group here from Hungary which gave me many opportunities to try out my ability to at least read Hungarian, if not pronounce it very well. Opportunities were present to participate in just about every activity from baptisms and confirmations through initiatory ordinances and endowment sessions. Last week we were coordinating the sessions which were conducted in Hungarian whereas this week we got the German sessions. But only one of the films shown is able to be shown in Hungarian and none of the others has yet been translated into other than German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Russian, Romanian, Bulgarian etc. are all waiting for their temples to be constructed before they make other translations available for the newer films. So we found that many of the Hungarian saints started attending the German sessions or else listened to them in English even though they still wanted to go through the veil in their own language. Ah, well, the work is still true no matter what language you pick it up in.

Well, they have just notified us yesterday of our assignments for the new month. We thought it likely that we would move toward initiatories as we have never had that responsibility yet, though we have often participated in the work. But our assignment will be to return to coordinate the baptisms and confirmations again! I did have the opportunity yesterday for the first time since we’ve been here, to be voice in the confirmations so that was fulfilling. Just finished listened to the choir broadcast. I guess the choir is underway on the west coast this week, so it was fun to hear the repeat from two years ago what was done at West Point. Having had direct exposure to the Army, Navy and the Marine Corps it’s always great to hear the Armed Forces Medley!

As to the other activities of the week, our car needed a little work, so I drove that over to our rental agency who perform all the necessary maintenance as part of our rental agreement. That left Mom with some free time, so she went with several others to the “Christmas City” of Seifen where she picked up some goodies that some of you may appreciate in the future. But no pictures from that trip. But yesterday they had a combined Freiberg Ward/Branch activity at one of the local soccer fields known as the “Platz der Einheit” or the Place of Unity. It was pretty fun as there were lots of kids both young and old who were playing on a variety of bikes and scooters, a mix of games including both soccer and a little effort at American football, and an amazing buffet that was partly pot luck but primarily provided by the bishopric and branch presidency. Most of us brought salads or desserts and it was very interesting to note that when time came to eat, everybody dove into the desserts first and then finished with the main course and salads afterwards. Everything was yummy! Here we are lining up in the shade watching whatever version of football was being perpetrated. And then a glimpse of the offered repast we all loved.

 

  

Our temple just about sunset.

By the way, we love the weekly reports we get from Myles, Kyle, Tim and Ellie as they serve the Lord. You are also always in our prayers and frequently mentioned, though not specifically by name, in the prayer circles of our endowment sessions. We know the Lord is with you and witness that truth in the letters you send to us.

Mom: Happy 1st of July and Ruslana and Andrew’s Anniversary. This week has just sort of blended into the rest of them. The weather has been great and cool, if we can keep having a few cool days all summer it will be perfect. I did have one sick day but, regardless, of what the father person says, I’m sure it was food poisoning as I know what it feels like, even if he never gets sick. I seem to have become more sensitive to foods, as I have also had two episodes of allergic response to foods. Has anyone had a reaction to fresh peas (besides Myles who I know is allergic to them)? It was a very strange reaction. Perhaps I ate too many, as I love them, but I started feeling a kind of stingy or prickly sensation in my mouth and throat. Then, I started sneezing for about 5 minutes straight, my head felt congested and I became very flushed on the face and in my eyes, and the palms of my hands felt flushed and itchy. I felt a little light headed, so I laid down for a few minutes, but I was coordinating the veil, so I hurried back to the temple. The symptoms slowly went away, and I was just fine.  About a week later I began to get a similar reaction to some breading on fish, so I just stopped eating it and again the symptoms went away. I’m not sure what is up with me, maybe it’s in the water or air over here, but we still love it and it is beautiful driving through the countryside and forest. Much more beautiful, when it is green and lush.

        We’ll miss being with you all at the family reunion or get together and will think of you as you get up to go to the balloon fest. It’s one of my favorite times, watching everyone smile as they look at the floating balloons and then going out for breakfast. We haven’t found any place to go out to eat breakfast so enjoy for us.  

Hugs, Loves, and Prayers,

Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker