India Night at the Center for Young Adults, Pecs

Norm, June 26,2010

Before we can tell you about India Night,we have to introduce you to our new friend Karishma. Karishma is Hindu from South Africa. Her ancestry is from India. She has been a Medical Student here in Hungary for the last six years. This week she graduates with her Medical Degree. Her long term passion is in the field of pediatric heart surgery.

Without Karishma there would not have been a India Night. She was India Night.

Karishma heard about our Mexican Night through our dear friend and recent convert Gabriela.

She so wanted her homeland of India to have representation. So in excitement she volunteered to take take the project on.

After spending an entire day on meal preparation we were treated to a full course meal of Indian cuisine.....and yes including a little curry, topped off with a rice pudding desert.

Then the action started. Indian dancing instruction, complete with projected India production music video

We were pleasantly surprised. most of the young women donned their sarape's and eagerly joined the festivities.

And yes, the guys joined in as well.

Kashmira brought a fellow student friend Hanna as well. She is from Norway. Sister Rollingson

gives a brief first missionary discussion.

Including the Branch President and the Missionaries, 29 people attended. The Young adult members do such a great job of getting their non member friends involved. 16 were non members. Many of those are taking the missionary lessons or soon will be. We consider this

activity to be our most successful to date. Karishma....we could not have done it without you.

Pécs 2010- The Borderless City

Zone Conference with an Area Seventy

June 17, 2010; Heather
Yesterday day we drove to Budapest for our Zone conference. Zone conferences are always wonderful, motivating experiences. We gain so much from the enthusiasm of the young missionaries, just being with them is like a shot of adrenaline. We always have great training from President and Sister Baughman and the Assistants and we leave with renewed desire to serve better.

This Zone conference was particularly inspiring because Elder Caussé, First Councilor in the Europe Area Presidency, was there to give us additional training. He is originally from the south of France and has been a Seventy for 2 years. He is about the same age as our son in law, Steve Deyholos, who served in France. He taught us for nearly 4 hours with great power and wisdom. He used the Scriptures to help us find answers to the questions we had about missionary work. He also shared some personal stories that were very inspiring. One of the first questions he asked us was to think about the reasons we are serving as missionaries and what our service means to us. It was a very thought provoking question and the young missionaries gave many good answers. One of the points he made was for us to forget about ourselves and learn to focus on those we serve and serve them with unconditional and universal love. If we have confidence in the Savior miracles will happen. Elder Caussé was so kind as to let us take his picture with us.

We had a spiritual feast provided by the Baughman's and Elder Caussé. We also had a feast of great lasagna provided by Sisters Baughman, Garner, Wade and Harris! Norm was excited to have real lasagna! There is a great deal of work that goes into putting on a Zone conference!

Changing Faces

June 17, 2010; Heather. Changing Faces

We said good by to Elder Golze and welcomed Elders Gardenhire and Diamond. We miss Elder Golze's smile and piano talent!

Elder Gardenhire and Elder Diamond are from Utah. They are great Elders and we enjoy working with them.

We have a new Senior couple that just arrived from Meridian, Idaho, the Folsters. We were able to meet them briefly at Zone Conference yesterday. They are going to serve in Eger. We are looking forward to getting to know them soon and wish them well in their service.

It is always great to see the Garners and Sisters Wade and Harris and Elder Recksiek when we go to Budapest.

On Speaking Hungarian

June 7,2010 Norm.
Every morning at the crack of dawn, we have this pigeon (actually a dove) that somehow thinks it is related to a roaster and has the mandate to let us know that morning has come....NAGYON SZÉP!!....NAGYON SZÉP.....Now I have no objection to being told that its a beautiful day (thats the NAGYON SZÉP translation,) but what really gets my shorts in a knot is how this *@%#* pigeon creature with a brain no bigger than my ginko-biloba pill, speaks such good Hungarian. Mind you its speach is limited, but so is mine and I'm supposed to be of the supperior species.
We have been told that the Hungarian language has tribal origins and competes with Manderine as the toughest language to learn, but the pigeons can do it and you should hear the little children. Yet I am convinced that even the older adults are still learning as not two people can agree on what is really correct. They say 3-5% of Hungarians speak English. I would down grade that by saying that only 3-5% speak a little English. Fluent English speakers probably number less than 1%. Hungarian is spoken only in Hungary. My own experience in learning the language I refer to as "The Parable of the Sive"......learn two words and next day forget two words. Sorry Tim!
This last Sunday was my first opportunity to conduct the Sacrament Meeting. With the help of a cheat sheet, I was able to do so and bear testimony in Magyarul. I felt blessed when no one got up and left yet some snickered and rolled their eyes. Thats the beauty of them all being such good friends, and they all said such kind things . ........at least I think they said kind things!!
And as the pigeon says.............Have a NAGYON SZÉP day!!

SPRING In Hungary

Heather May 29,2010
There is nothing I enjoy more than Spring when it finally arrives -- and Spring in Pécs is glorious.The climate here is very mild the last frost is in late March so everything simply bursts into bloom almost simultaneously. I carry my camera in my purse so I can take random pictures of the blossoms I find along my way like these locust flowers at the bus stop.

Hungarians love lilacs and they bloom everywhere almost as if they are wild. At the piac during lilac season every vendor has masses of all varieties and colors of my favorite fragrant bush. These came from a town a 45 minuet bus ride away, brought by a friend for me on Hungarian Mother's Day. They were beautiful for a week!

Everyone decorates for Easter with flowers and colored eggs. My neighbor, Agnes, and her grand daughter, Lila, had fun getting ready for the holiday. I had fun watching them in the courtyard below our balcony.

The roses here are amazing. Almost every yard has huge climbing roses that are 8 to 10 feet tall. There are roses in the public squares and around civic buildings. The winters are so mild that there is no die back so the roses thrive from year to year. I can buy Lily of the valley every day here. It is called pearl flower in Hungary -- lovely name.

This is my little garden on the balcony off our living room. The peonies are from a members garden. Bless here heart, she brings me flowers every Sunday so I don't have to buy any for the Chapel now.

At Elder Hay and Elder Golze farewell party we had a Hungarian Spring party. My friend Beatrix raided her mothers garden and brought the most beautiful fragrant roses I have ever seen. We made garlands and these flower wands that we used in a traditional Hungarian dance, somewhat like the Virginia Reel.

Norm and the Elders especially enjoyed hamming it up with their flower staffs. I think Elder Bouck had a little trouble getting used to waving around a flower wand but he eventually overcame his Texan macho persona.

Rollingson Elder on the other hand, did a great imitation of a faded rose from days gone bye

Kira has just turned 5 and is the darling of the Branch. She loves the Elders, even the old ones!
She was calling Norm her "bacsi" which means elder brother, but is used to describe any little old man. Elder Rollingson was soaking up hugs and attention. Kira has become our surrogate grand daughter.

All in all Spring is a delightful season in Hungary. We kind of smile when we hear of all the snow falling in Utah and Wyoming -- then we go out and look at all the blossoms of Pécs.

In Quest of the NAGY FAMILY

Elder Hay and Elder Bouck out streeting on a georgous saturday morning

Any contacts that result in a teaching situation are called finds.

The name Nagy (pronounced Noj) is a common family name

in Hungary (Nagy means large or big) The Elders are out

to make a big impression.

By the time you read this blog, Elder Hay will be on his way

home. He has left quit a large imprint in building up the church

in Hungary. Pecs loss will be Idaho Falls gain. We will miss you

Elder Hay.

PECS Cultural Center for Europe 2010

Norm May 17, 2010 As one of the Cultural Capitals of Europe, Pécs will hold an array of cultural programs throughout the year.

This particular event was the Pécs Dance Marathon-International Youth Festival and Workshop.

Ethnic dancers from many European communitees were present. I beleive this group of talented youth represented the Gypsies of Hungary and performed in Jókai Ter just a few short steps from our branch house.

Today May 17 is a special day. Our dear friends the Gronnestads from British Columbia enter the MTC. They have been called to the Denmark Copenhagen Mission.

Gofri Est és Családi Est

Who am I???

Allright.....Who swallowed the Feather????

May 10,2010 Norm.

Well the busier we get, the more difficult it becomes to update the blog. Had a hoot with two more successful Gofri Est (Waffle Night) activities in Pecs and Koposvar. Thanks to Val and Deans waffle recipes, our Gofri reputation has been spared. Fed 14 youth in Pecs Friday and 16 in Kaposvar on Saturday. Throw in 8 bottomless pit Elders and you have a plethora of waffles. More than half of the 30 kids are now numbered in the investigator column. Add a couple of wild FHE's and its been a busy week. Elders Hay, Bouck and Nemetz had a baptism on Saturday as well. The work goes forward and we are seeing some progress. Hope we can claim a small hand in the success. Two more weeks and Elder Hay goes home....We'r going to miss him.

Picnic in the Park

Heather studies "Birds of Hungary" and a chance to practice some Magyarul with a dear friend.

Elder Hay and ElderBouck do their King Benjamin routine, or was it the tower of Babel?

Norm May 1, 2010 Saturday May 1st was another Hungarian Holiday. Everything, I mean everything shuts down, the streets are deserted. The weather was gorgeous and everything was perfect for a day with the Branch at the local park.

It was actually a Hike/Picnic. We all met at a bus station about 4 km away and everbody hiked.

Very few of the members have cars so the walk was what they do. For us the return trip about did us in. But it was a good day. Twenty Five people attended, seven were investigators.

Saturday Fun in Pécs

April 27, 2010; Heather

Pécs Branch hosted a Ping Pong Tournament on Saturday. The Elders and some members from Kaposvár came up by bus. Everyone had fun eating pizza and playing games as well as Ping Pong. Elder Rowland from Kaposvár was the winner of the tourney. Poor Elder Golze spent most of his time trying to fix my computer. It is working much better because of his help.

Friday night we had a waffle night with the YSA group. They loved the waffles because I used a recipe Val sent me. They played games until almost 9pm and we think they had fun. We had several investigators there, which is wonderful.

Sunday evening we had FHE for our single parents and were really pleased that Beatrix's two older children came. They seemed to enjoy the evening and they have committed to attend the EFY camp in Switzerland in June. On Monday Beatrix and Maja came for FHE. We worked on our plans to make a table cloth for the Branch hall table. We are so grateful for their support for the YSA program here.