Spring is Here

We had another transfer and this is our new district. We lost two and gained two. Sister Barrera is brand new from the MTC and Elder Crane is our new district leader.

We traveled to a small town about an hour away called Sf. Gheorge to visit a new member who had joined the church in England. She was so happy to see members of the church. Her eyes sparkled and she is so excited about the gospel. It will be difficult for her to come to Brasov to attend church because of the distance.  We will try to visit her as often as we can.

We have passed this piece of art several times in our travels thru Onesti and finally stopped to take a picture of it.  It is made out of welded steel forming two trees but the branches create a face.  Elder Powell loves it.

This is a sculpture of a lady kneeling before the Mother Mary which is typical of the predominant religion here.  They seem to focus more on the Mother Mary than they do on the Savior.

March 1st is the Romanian holiday called Martisor. It is a celebration of the coming of spring and new life. One of our members explained the tradition to us. It is for both men and women to pin a red and white string on their clothing over their heart and wear it through the month of March. At the end of March, they tie the string around a branch of a fruit tree. The belief is that you will then enjoy good health through the coming year.

We had 10 missionaries in our city this week. Occasionally the zone leaders and training sisters will come and do "splits" with the missionaries.

We had a birthday breakfast celebration for Elder Speyer Saturday morning.  It's always fun to have the missionaries in our apartment.

We gave him a card and Elder Brown made a birthday cake.

March 8th is International Women's Day which they celebrate here. The branch had an activity Saturday afternoon where the men cooked food and planned a program for the women. They taught us some Romanian traditional dances and all the women received a spring flower.

Our parking garage is always fun. Some days it is impossible to get out because someone has parked in front of you. We really miss our two car garage at home.

Another great day at Feldioara! The Sunday meeting was filled beyond capacity.  There were 51 attending and there are 36 chairs so several had to stand. What a wonderful problem to have! We are looking for a larger building to meet in. More than half were non-members.

Sister Ralls is trying to learn how to lead the music and she is doing a great job. Missionaries get lots of opportunities to learn new skills and develop their talents.