Greetings from Jerusalem...

Dear Friends... It's amazing to see how we are spread all across this old world...what a remarkable life is ours to enjoy. As bored as Ray and I have occasionally been, we are not unappreciative of this once in a lifetime experience to live in the holyland...in many ways, it's been like coming home.

Thank you, dear Kaye, for keeping us close with this latest technology. Ray and I so enjoyed reading about your missionary adventures ...you're right...it's a dream assignment but the members in Europe couldn't be more blessed than to have you there.

Where does time go? This past week we celebrated our 47th anniversary ...poof...it's over...just like that...where have those 47 years gone? Is it as hard for you to comprehend as it is for me? As children of God, time is supposed to last forever...

We're excited to be returning home in June. With the slow tourist activity here at the Center, they are combining assignments, which means that we'll be home for our granddaughter's wedding. They'll have one couple doing humanitarian and hosting...since our replacement will be here in May, we'll be returning home after Egypt and training the new folks.

Since I wrote last, we've had some great adventures, including going with our students to Jordan. Thanks to the excellent leadership of the king and queen for generations back, that country is progressive, clean and so inviting...the people are happy there...they are quite westernized and democratic; it gives hope for the whole middle east. We visited the branch---the church is still not recognized but Christian people are able to be taught and baptized by our senior couples. We also have, on average, 50 students studying there from the BYU in their Arabic language program.

We visited a huge mall one night...6 stories that went on forever. While there, we enjoyed the company of these men as they sat talking at a local Starbucks...


Kent and Gayle Brown are the new directors of the Center here...my, have we enjoyed getting to know them...they are such fine people...magnanimous, stimulating and lots of fun. Here we are in the ancient city of Jerash, the largest Roman city outside of Rome...a stunning place.


Here at the Center we meet such interesting people. Last Friday two middle age couples visited who live in Israel. They were warm, friendly and spoke English. After the concert, one of the women profusely thanked Norm, our organist, and started to cry. Later, she explained to me that she was born in Poland. As a little girl, her nanny had taken her to church on Christmas where she had heard the organ played. When I didn't look as responsive as she thought I should, she said, "You don't understand. I am Jewish and she was Christian. I went home and told my mother that I had seen a little baby (in a manger) and that he was cold, that I needed to take some clothes for him (to be warm). Years later, she said, I went to Europe and listened to the organs, but I have never heard (that sound) until now, today."

I said, "You have felt the Spirit," and she agreed. This is what happens in this building when people feel the warmth of the Spirit...they just melt.

Norm shared another time when a group of tourists came...he felt impressed to change what he had planned to play and chose a Bach piece instead. After the concert, one of a woman started to cry, explaining to Norm that two weeks earlier her son had died...the music Norm played for them was her son's favorite piece.

I call these experiences, "pre-1st contacts." Someday, when the scriptures are being fulfilled.... perhaps we'll have a better understanding of our contribution here.

---"the time cometh, when the fulness of my gospel shall be preached unto (the Jews),----I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem...3rd Nephi 20.

We see this happening now. Twenty-five years ago when we were here as tourists, Church was held in the basement of the Swiss Embassy with a total of 40 members in all of Israel. Now we have three branches with our own buildings and the probability of a group in Haifa being started this summer. A senior couple has just been called to serve there in June. Exciting times.

We love you all...hope all is well...we love to hear from you!!
Carol and Ray

Bucharest, Romania

Greetings from Romania. Don't you love this picture? I imagine all the tellers inside having Dracula teeth and wearing black capes. The castle, Bran, where the story of Dracula is set is about 50 miles north of here and that area of the country is really called Transylvania.

This is a country still lagging behind other European countries, but at least beginning to join the race. These four days have been most interesting being in the big city of Bucharest with its traffic, pollution, square Communist-era buildings yet nestled on a tiny island of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a district conference where the Holy Ghost was strongly present. District Conference is like Stake Conference for us. Wonderful members, many of them the young people I worked with when I did the Young Single Adult Conference last May. They were all very glad to greet me again. They have a marvelous light in their eyes.

Garth and Sheila and I arrived Friday midday. Joyce and Steve, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and an assistant to the president Elder who drives the city picked us up. We went to the mission home and met the president and let Garth and Sheila renew their memories of the world they were in for three years when they were mission presidents here. They had built the home that is the mission home now and President and Sister Lundberg were most gracious in greeting us and letting us look around. Then on to the mission office where we met wonderful missionaries and looked at the city from another view.

That night we trained Steve and Joyce and a couple that had come down from Moldova on how to run the Young Adult Centers that are being developed. Saturday morning we attended a Young Adult Council meeting with the young people who are serving in the leadership of the district, the mission president, the senior couples, and our wonderul Elder Wondra. Remember, Rolf and Gretchen, when we did Jedermann in the law school not long after we moved to Provo? I reminded Elder Wondra of that experience. He remembered it very well.

Sunday after conference Joyce and Steve had Elder Wondra come here for dinner because we had a fireside that night. They live close to the Church. So we spent a wonderful three hours visiting with Elder Wondra. He is a remarkable man with a merry heart. He tells wonderful stories of joining the Church as a young adult, marrying in the temple, and raising a family in the Church. His wife is third generation member from Germany. He is from Austria. He remembers the Anschluss in 1938 when Hitler took over Austria. He remembers seeing Hitler. Someone gave him a little flag to wave. His parents saw that the Nazis were not good and moved to Czechoslovakia for about 10 years until the war was well overand the Russians took over there. To escape that they moved back to Austria where when he was a college student two missionaries knocked on Elder Wondra's door.

He talks about going to Salt Lake City for the first time years later. A friend drove him around and showed him Elder Maxwell's house, then President Kimball's house. The house next door to President Kimball was for sale. Elder Wondra thought he might buy it. But he remembered that the Prophet had said that people ought to remain in their own countries and build up the Church there. He said he went home to Austria and lived feeling perfectly safe right near where the Russians threatened danger because he knew he was following the Prophet. He said he realized he would rather be threatened by the Russians and follow the Prophet than live next door to the Prophet and NOT follow him.

So today we'll fly home to Frankfurt and prepare for the next trip to Copenhagen and Oslo day after tomorrow.

I've had occasion this weekend to think about the time Gretchen went with me and the EMBAs to China and we visited a factory that was filled with 15-18 year-old young women making Sony Walkmans. Gretchen saw that difficult life and said she wouldn't do it. The Chinese woman who was leading the group said, "It is this or the rice paddies, which would you prefer?" Gretchen and I had several conversations about what it means to be raised in a country where you are privileged to have opportunity, many choices. Where you can decide what you'd like to do and even change your mind. The scriptures tell us that where much is given, much is required. Our wonderful family has been given so much, so many choices, so many opportunities. Be sure to choose well. Choose to work hard to be smart, happy, obedient. Remember, as long as you choose to keep the promises you've made to Heavenly Father, all the other choices will work out. Zach, Olle, Sadie, Leif, you have all made a promise when you were baptized, that you would be a worthy, obedient child of God. McKay, your choice to make that promise is coming so very soon. Lucy, Elsa, Liesel, your promises will be offered before we know it. Your mommies and daddys have made other promises in the temple. So have I. Let's all promise to keep those promises.

Some quick observations:
-Spring is coming to Romania
-Tiny green shoots on bushes hold great promise
-Stray dogs are everywhere in the streets. Big ones.
-I think the dogs are neurotic from not getting a good night's sleep. Always some dog is barking.
-Tall buildings have a ground floor, then a first, second, third floor up. So Steve and Joyce live on the 7th floor, but in the tiny elevator you push 6 because they live on the 6th floor above the ground floor
-The Gospel makes people light from inside and very beautiful
-The Gospel is true

This building is called the People's Palace. It was built by Ciaoucescu, a wicked despot who caused many problems in Romania after the Iron Curtain came down. The people hate this place because of how they remember he was so awful to them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will make all the difference.

Love you all,

Kaye

Report from the Front

My bed.

My front door, second from left

Liebe Freunde,

Well, it's 11:00 p.m. and it looks like I've had most of my night's sleep since I came home and fell into bed at 6:30 p.m. I got up from my bed to check the clock in the kitchen and laughed out loud to see it was only 11:00 p.m.

But I did get the wireless connected by chance in the night last night, so here we are. Doing work.

Yesterday morning I went to German church in town by the area offices. Two wards meet there, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They were very nice to me. The two sisters who live next door to me here go there, so it worked out perfectly to ride in with them. Lots of other people go to the international ward out in Offenbach but I want the German. It was wonderful to see them field a reasonable choir, have some regular sized deacons at the sacrament table, and a fairly young bishop who is really terrific. He gave a good talk (his German was a bit fast for me) and he taught the Gospel Doctrine lesson which was not too fast for me. The stake president's wife translated for everyone who wanted the English. But I toughed it out. I'll never get the German again unless I work at it.

In that ward, and the director of the choir is a woman whom I knew 43 years ago as a 10-year-old girl in Ravensburg, Germany. Gisela Klein. I had alerted her that I was coming, but she was so happy to see me it was amazing.

A senior couple had me over for Swedish salmon, meatballs, and the equivalent of cranberry sauce. It tasted terrific for Sunday dinner. They are missing Sweden. All of this a bit daunting just as they were getting comfortable with their temple recorder job at the Swedish Temple. Now the language is all different as well as the job.

I've met about 25 other senior people who work here in the offices, the test will be trying to remember their names. Real work starts this morning, Monday. We have a devotional at 9:00 a.m. at the church, then everyone goes to the office building next door to work. My office---makeshift at best---is in the basement of the church where they may expand to another ward someday. I get the clerk's office next to what would be the bishop's office. We'll see how long this works. My colleague works outof his apartment in the high rise building next door. But my apartment is 15 minutes away in a village called Bad Vilbel, so I can't work from here, though it's charming.

I already burned out my little converter trying to dry my hair yesterday morning. But someone found some hair dryers and curling irons in their apartment that fit the plugs normally. They have another set that also fits the plugs in England. Phew!

Last night I prayed in German. Out loud. That's the first time I felt like doing that in about 35 years. Something about struggling to use the right word makes each word and its meaning so valuable.

I love being here. Rainy, chilly, red-roofed Germany. I keep wishing I could show my grandchildren.

The Gospel is true. Seid brav! Ich liebe Euch!

Schwester Hanson

Dear Friends:
My first blog entry! February has been a busy and rewarding month for me. Here are three highlights:

February 5th, the fourth anniversary of Gaylord’s death, The Sutherland Institute which he founded, hosted a civic gathering at Thanksgiving Point focused on the Common Ground Initiative before the legislature. I was asked to conclude the evening by telling about Sutherland, explaining why civic responsibility is important, and presenting Sutherland’s counter initiative, The Sacred Ground Initiative. Not only was this a tender evening personally, but also very rewarding as over 600 people gathered and I was able to see another of Gaylord’s legacies bless others.

February 11th I left for Disneyland with five grandchildren. It is still the Magic Kingdom! Wholesome recreation and family time was such fun.

The Philanthropy Roundtable, a national organization spotlighted our family foundation this month. I have attached a link if some of you would be interested. http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/article.asp?article=1570&cat=141

[If you click on the adobe pdf file on the right, there are pictures]

Construction on the school is well under way and will be completed for fall. We have a contract for additional property which is a great blessing. I spent Friday at a Family Forum and Family Ball hosted by the Family Education Center at the school. It was truly wonderful!

I give thanks daily for your friendship and the influence you have had on my life.

Much love,
Laurie