Romanians Find Peace in Christ
We completed our final week with the Romanian saints after almost a three week stay. There were several very special people that we grew to love during this time and most of them we will not see again because we will have left before their planned return. We mentioned in our letter last week, the Geambasu (pronounced Jahmbassoo) family who were set apart temple workers. We had also mentioned the wonderful program Sister Geambasu had put on a couple of weeks ago. As they were leaving, I tried to get an email address for them and she gave me a card on which were her Facebook and YouTube websites. Little did I realize that she has posted a great many of her songs and one or two programs with YouTube. We highly recommend you take the time when you’ve got it to listen to a little of her talent. Search for Izabel Geambasu and it will come right up. Here are a few photos of the people we’ve been working with starting with the Geambasu’s.
And also noting Brother and Sister Wengert who are members of our branch and also temple workers.
Third are Brother and Sister Dzierzon, a sealer and the parents of our Branch President.
It has been revealed this past week that they have received a call to be counselor and assistant matron of the new Temple Presidency when it is reorganized in November.
Over the past several weeks, as time permitted I have been looking carefully at all the pictures hanging in the temple, our apartment complex and the patron housing building right next to ours. I ended up reviewing exactly 101 different paintings and pictures and studying the various details of each. I then decided that it might be a fun game to come up with a questionnaire asking specific questions about each picture. So I ended up with two pages containing specific questions about each and passed them out to all the missionary couples. A few of the local members also became interested and we passed a few to them as well, cautioning them all, however, that the questions were all in English. We then had a family home evening last Monday where we went over everyone’s answers, promising a free dinner at a fancy restaurant to the winners. We ended up not haggling over who did the best and all agreed we should go out together for an evening event and they wanted to treat us! It really was an interesting event and we kept it reasonably spiritual. There were three different pictures of the Sacred Grove but only one with Moroni and Joseph Smith visible. There were two others calling apostles, one with James and John and the other with Peter and Andrew which took specific scriptural references to demonstrate which picture was which. I noted that we only had two pictures with bearded angels despite over scores of angels depicted at the Second Coming and the Savior appearing at the temple in the Americas. Those two turned out to be Gabriel and Moroni. We even had questions where there was no right answer but just looking for interesting impressions about what this or that might represent. My favorite answer to a small black and white structure in a bush was a Boston terrier. Others thought it might be an owl on a rock. But I loved a picture of the Sermon on the Mount where a young boy is pointing at a butterfly. There were several pictures of Martha and Mary and several others with Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene at the time of His resurrection. There was even a well-known picture of Christ appearing to the eleven apostles on the Mt. of Olives at the time of His ascension to heaven. We all had a fun time together.
It has been revealed this past week that they have received a call to be counselor and assistant matron of the new Temple Presidency when it is reorganized in November.
Over the past several weeks, as time permitted I have been looking carefully at all the pictures hanging in the temple, our apartment complex and the patron housing building right next to ours. I ended up reviewing exactly 101 different paintings and pictures and studying the various details of each. I then decided that it might be a fun game to come up with a questionnaire asking specific questions about each picture. So I ended up with two pages containing specific questions about each and passed them out to all the missionary couples. A few of the local members also became interested and we passed a few to them as well, cautioning them all, however, that the questions were all in English. We then had a family home evening last Monday where we went over everyone’s answers, promising a free dinner at a fancy restaurant to the winners. We ended up not haggling over who did the best and all agreed we should go out together for an evening event and they wanted to treat us! It really was an interesting event and we kept it reasonably spiritual. There were three different pictures of the Sacred Grove but only one with Moroni and Joseph Smith visible. There were two others calling apostles, one with James and John and the other with Peter and Andrew which took specific scriptural references to demonstrate which picture was which. I noted that we only had two pictures with bearded angels despite over scores of angels depicted at the Second Coming and the Savior appearing at the temple in the Americas. Those two turned out to be Gabriel and Moroni. We even had questions where there was no right answer but just looking for interesting impressions about what this or that might represent. My favorite answer to a small black and white structure in a bush was a Boston terrier. Others thought it might be an owl on a rock. But I loved a picture of the Sermon on the Mount where a young boy is pointing at a butterfly. There were several pictures of Martha and Mary and several others with Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene at the time of His resurrection. There was even a well-known picture of Christ appearing to the eleven apostles on the Mt. of Olives at the time of His ascension to heaven. We all had a fun time together.
The next night, delayed because of the time it took to go through 101 pictures, we all got together for S’mores and Ping-Pong and enjoyed a great social evening.
Now we’re all really gearing up for the temple closure in a week. We’re renting our own car because the Linford’s are going to take our shared car south to Vienna and Budapest. We’re gearing up for visiting three temples in three different countries and seeing the sights along the way. We’ll see if we can find Internet service next week when we’re in Berlin to tell you about this next week’s events.
Mom: I don’t have much to add today. Our Romanian sisters kept me busy in initiatories along with many other visitors who brought their families along. I enjoyed seeing children in the temple housing hallways. We were also able to help some of these families have fun making “S’mores.” Friday was the last day for most of the Romanians and they couldn’t give enough hugs as we finished our work in the temple. It’s wonderful to be a part of the saints making up this great church. The spirit keeps witnessing of the great truth and goodness that we all share.
Praying for all your welfare and happiness, love and hugs,
Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker
Grammy, Grampa, Mom, Dad, Elder and Sister Parker
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