Szolnok

The first picture is the YW in the Branch. The girl in the purple shirt is Timi. She is from Buda. She speaks English very well so she went with us to be our translator. It was actually a little more relaxing having someone we knew translate for us. The other picture is all the women in the RS. It's pretty amazing to me to see these members come to church each week with so few people there. The girl in the front of the RS sisters in the yellow shirt is going to BYU in the Fall. The woman in the green is Sister Williams. These women were so nice. They were so happy to see us. They came up to me afterwards and just kept saying " Koszonom Koszonom" Thank you, thank you. Then they would point to the pictures I brought. I think they loved seeing pictures of my family. You can tell they are really nice people even though you aren't able to talk to them. I love visiting the small branches in Hungary.

Szolnok

Just outside the church is a nice plot of land. Some of the members planted a garden there. After church they just go into the garden and pick some vegetables. I was talking to one of the members who spoke English. I was saying things like "oh, you've planted carrots here and green beans here, tomatoes here". She was very surprised that I was able to identify the plants by their leaves. I told her I loved having a garden and had planted many in my life. I guess she couldn't imagine people in the states having a garden. I wish we had some land near our ward in Buda. I would definitely plant a garden.

The little red car you see in the background is what we get to drive. It gets great gas mileage. The senior missionaries serving in Szolnok have one just like it. Elder and Sister Williams - They go home in August. Elder Williams is the Branch President. He speaks enough Hungarian that he is able to conduct the meetings and speak with the members. It's very impressive.

Szolnok

Our speaking assignment for May was in Szolnok. One of my favorite missionaries is serving in Szolnok. This is him with his companion. Elder Wanlass and Elder Vandermark - He was in Buda when I first came here, but he was transferred to Szolnok. It was fun to see him. In April when we spoke in Papa, I thought the members seemed so bored. So this time when I spoke I showed them pictures. My topic was Joseph Smith. I showed them pictures of when Marty and Braedon went to New York. They were standing in front of the Joseph Smith home. I also showed Braedon trying to lift a huge rock on the Hill Cumorah ( like he was looking for the Gold Plates) My sister, Terry, sent pictures of her boys in the Sacred Grove and climbing over the fence on the Joseph Smith property. So all these pictures worked perfectly with my talk. The people really seemed to enjoy seeing the pictures. I may do it again when we go to another small branch. I told Elder Wanlass I wanted a picture of him in front of the church. I asked him where the name of the church was so we could take it there. I don't know if you can see it but the name is litterally a piece of laminated paper nailed to the wall over the door. It sure makes you appreciate what we have in the US.

Senior Missionary Conference

One night of the Conference we went up to Castle Hill. The Castle is so amazing. It can be seen from all over Buda and Pest. It's really spectacular to see at night. The statue is of a hunter and his dogs. It's also pretty cool to see. In August they have a country celebration - similar to 4th of July. They have a fireworks show from the Castle. Everyone says it's pretty fun to see that. We aren't sure if we will stay here for that or go to Debrecen. They have a Parade there on the same

day that is similar to the Rose Parade. So we need to decide which we would like to see the most.

Senior Missionary Conference

Here are some pictures from our boat trip to Szentendre down the Danube. It was a beautiful day. We were so lucky to have nice weather. It was so fun to have a day with no responsibilities. We were able to relax and enjoy visiting and getting acquainted with the other senior missionaries.

Senior Missionary Conference

One of the Senior Missionaries made this Energizer Bunny for our Mission President. I think it's very appropriate. President Baughman does so much. I'm surprised he is exhausted most of the time. But he's always smiling and positive about whatever he's doing.

Senior Missionary Conference

We had a Senior Missionary Conference in May. We spent one day sharing ideas and experiences. We also had some training from President Baughman. The next day we took a boat to a little tourist city, Szentendre, about 30 minutes away. We had a great time. Just one of the perks of being a senior missionary.