5 Weeks of our mission have past and

we miss home but are getting busier and busier

Here in Iasi

This cathedral steeple is the one visible from our 

bedroom window.  It's impressive up close

don't you think?

Western sky from our living room reminds us of beautiful sunsets 

everywhere we've been in the world.

The Bucharest nightclub fire probably didn't hit the national news in USA last weekend.

It caused lots of problems for the leaders here in Romania

when citizens, fed up with corruption that led to an unsafe building

caused the deaths of over 30 and many more hospitalized in serious condition 

from the fire 

Over 20 thousand marched in protest which caused the resignation of the 

Prime Minister and two of his officials.

Monday for P-day the sister missionaries had me cut their hair.

Sister Lunt has beautiful blond curly hair while

Sister Weaver has beautiful long chestnut hair.

Sister Lunt hadn't had her hair cut since coming on her mission.

I also cut sister Kitchen's hair but forgot the camera till getting to 

the second sister.

Reading the book of Mormon is a mission wide challenge.  

Wed. nightthe members come to share what they have learned.

The missionaries always invite a member to 

bear their testimony 

then we have an activity.  

This week the Elders made swords and everyone

wrote on their sword one sin they would like to bury.

The brown fleece blanket was the dirt that we 

buried the swords under.

Give a missionary a sword and watch out.  

Glad they were made of paper 

This book case was a nightmare when we arrived.

It was my project this week to clear, move, organize and

make it our own.  

Flowers of course along with pictures of Christ is the theme.

About a block from our church we are watching the construction of another 

four story building.  This one will be apartments.  

Their way of construction is as foreign to our ways as

Ugandan construction was.

It's always fun to see what they are doing next.

Three of our dear missionaries will be leaving us this transfer.

Here is the picture of them with the ward members after

the Block.  Seven missionaries to eight members, quite the 

ratio wouldn't you say?

One of our NGO girls working for an orphanage.  

We call them the BYU kids but this girl is from Canada and doesn't go to BYU.

She was the official photographer of the above picture.

My goal this week is to learn their names.

Daniela on the right is the RS president.

Jenny on the left is the 1st counselor

and I am the activities counselor.

Jenny and I visit teach these three ladies: Cristina, Daniela and Marie

So far we've only visited Marie.  What a fun visit we had.

Her son is the District Counselor.

Last picture of our first group of missionaries.

Elder Swafford and Chatterton are actually acting kind of normal

 This is a strange fruit I found that had fallen off a tree.

We showed it to the members and no one knew what it was.

The BYU kids thought it smelled like some sort of citrus.

 It reminded Elder Brown and I of the nubby textured Jack fruit in Uganda.  

We probably won't open it up and compare.  Too pretty the way it is

Missionaries and BYU kids.  They really have fun together

with Elder Swafford being his usual self.

This morning I finished my three week challenge to read the Book of Mormon.

Tears filled my eyes as I finished Moroni's testimony and farewell.

How blessed we are to have the Book of Mormon.

My next goal is to read the Book of Mormon in Romanian with my companion.

We are on 1 Nephi 7.  We're hoping to finish in the next 17 months.

It may take longer unless we improve.

That is the goal right?