Springing into April!

Sasha, from Moldova, leaves for the mission field.

Elder Johnson, Elder Olsen, Elder Herman, Elder Vekony, and Elder Barney stand to sing with church members everywhere during General Conference. This weekend was such a treat for all those who were in an area where the conference was being broadcast.

I love watching General Conference here in Romania. In Bucharest, the conference is shown at the Mihai Bravu building. The broadcast is shown in Romanian in the main room where we hold Sacrament Meeting, while English is broadcast upstairs in a small classroom. There is such a great spirit there as we see the thousands of people gathered in the conference center to listen to our prophet and the other general authorities of the church. Each time I am there, I just wish I could bring all the people of Romania and Moldova in to hear what marvelous truths have been restored to the earth in the latter-days. I want to lift my voice and say, "Look at all those people who love this gospel and live it. There are millions of them now." I want them to know that their small congregations can and will grow to fill their buildings. I want them to know that some day, they, too, will have wards, stakes, and temples! I love the gospel!

Doina Biolaru was the first woman baptized in Romania twenty years ago. She is still rock-solid in the church. A special fireside was held commemorating the wonderful event. Doina is seen in this picture with a portrait of herself painted by our talented, Sora VanWagoner. Sora VanWagoner and her husband are senior missionaries, serving in Galaţi.


Joshua turned 12-years old on April 8. He had an interview over Skype with our home ward bishop. Constanţa missionaries, Elder Biggs, Elder Sullivan, Elder Simmons, and Elder Boehme stood in the circle with Joshua's dad as Joshua was given the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained to the office of a deacon. He passed the sacrament for the very first time the next morning to the Constanţa Branch. It was a beautiful experience for Joshua.

Elder Ştefan Vizante returns home! It was great to have Elder Vizante back from his mission to the England London South Mission. His father was baptized while he was gone. How is that for a wonderful blessing while serving? Ilie, a friend and member from the Panduri Branch in Bucharest (who served in this mission many years ago), was there to greet Stefan on his arrival home. Stefan is now serving in the branch as the Branch Mission Leader!

Easter Fair comes to Bucharest! Every year, the weekend before Easter, vendors from Romania come to a big fair to sell their wares. I love to see these amazing people and the things they have made!

April 16 was the baptismal service for Cornelia and Felicia. I met Cornelia a year ago, and we've kept in touch from time to time since then. Cornelia has continued to come to church most of the time during the past year. Imagine how thrilled I was when the elders called to say she was ready to be baptized. Elder Sullivan, Elder Simmons, Elder Boehme, and Elder Biggs worked with and baptized these two young ladies.

I love this couple. Their names are Brother and Sister Viţel. They are the grandparents of Mariana Constantinescu, the branch president's wife in Constanţa. There are four generations now of a family that comes to church in that branch. These sweet great-grandparents, their daughter, their grand-daughter, Mariana, and the Constantinescu's new baby, Eva Sofia.

As our time in the mission starts to wind down, I feel an urgency to take pictures of the country and those scenes that have grown dear to my heart. I want the memories of the beautiful countries of Romania and Moldova to be forever engrained into my memory.

The new road runs next to the old bridge.

The entrance of the bridge.

Joshua and I went overnight to Barlad. Joshua was out of school for a ten day Easter holiday, and everyone he knew seemed to be going on vacation. So he and I rode the train to Barlad to visit with his foster family, the Catunas. It was fun to see them all, and Joshua had fun riding bikes and playing with the twins, George and Anca.

We dyed Easter eggs with the Catunas. We did some the pioneer method with onion skins, as well as the modern way with all sorts of colors. It was lots of fun.

Easter decorations on the streets of Barlad!

I took some photos from the train on our way back to Bucharest.

I want to always remember these heart-warming sights!

The dogs even hang out at the train stations!

Look at all the bird nests in the trees!

I love the countryside!

I love the old buildings. I always wonder about the history behind them.

Our American friends, the Farnsworths and the LaBarges, came over on Saturday night before Easter and we colored more eggs, played games, and had dinner together.

Daisy, far right, also was with us for the fun. Daisy is a nanny in Bucharest and attends the Panduri Branch. She is from the Phillipines, and I am her visiting teacher.

Claire, Stuart, Darrin, and Braden Farnsworth, with Brandon LaBarge.

Sora Randi Olson returned with her family for a visit. They came to our home for dinner on Easter Sunday. It was great to meet them all.

Easter Sunday crew!

Our departing group of missionaries included Elder Vogelsberg, Elder Clonts, and Sora Gogu. We love them and miss them.

Sora Burca from Moldova joined us on Easter Sunday for her setting apart as a full-time missionary. She stayed the night with us and flew the following day to Utah to begin her mission. She will be serving in the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission.

New missionaries arrive. We are always thrilled to see the enthusiasm that arrives with each new group of missionaries. Sora Bennett, Sora Hickman, and Elder Nielson are our newest missionaries. We are happy to have them here!

Elder Vogelsberg's parents came to get him and to visit the mission. It is always such a delight to see the joyfull reunion of missionaries and their parents.

Elder Ure, Elder Nemrow, Elder Gardner, and Elder Jensen listen to President's words of congratulations. We had an 8 week "friend competition" for the 6 zones in the mission on getting investigators to church. The Chisinau Zone won the prize--a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.

Elder Petersen, Elder James, and Elder Ure relax at the end of the evening.

Sora Bobrov, Sora Mudge, and Sora Hupp were the sisters involved in the night out.

Elder Hackett, Elder Holt, Elder Jentzch, and Elder Stapleton---Russian-speaking missionaries enjoying a night in Bucharest.

Elder Bennett, Elder Frandsen, Elder Bateman, and Elder Finch were part of the fun.

The whole group!

I gave them all a Milka Candy bar that said, "Sweet is the Work."

Orhei members and Elder Finch heading into the vila to watch conference.