LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

The winds were howling and the snow coming down horizontally. It had been snowing almost 24 hours. A foot of snow already lay on the ground with no signs of letting up. A trip to Varna was in the plans with us leaving in 4 hours by the time we got out of bed. This involved a 5 hour road trip through Burgas and the mountains between Burgas and Varna. What was the weather like between Plovdiv and Varna? A call to Elder Mace in Sliven was not encouraging. This would be the half-way point. He had cancelled his trip as well because of similar conditions. Cancel Super Saturday? Done! Stay home! So we built a snowman on our deck. Sounds like fun. What else to do on a snow day. Check out the snowman, it was so cold that he even had blue lips.

We called up the Elders and Sisters and invited them over for a hot meal at the end of their day. They were mobile; it is a lot easier to get around walking then driving on the narrow roads we have to drive on.

We woke up this morning to an email from our real estate broker announcing an offer on our house. This needed our approval and Spencer’s signature by the end of the week-end, as time was of the essence. This is an email we would not have received until Sunday night, possibly too late to act on. There are indeed “tender mercies” being given and we appreciate this blessing. Sorry to postpone Super Saturday, but thankful for the offer on our home.

Fruits of Your Labors

This is a story we are excited to tell. In the Estonian town of Narva in 2004, while we were serving in the Baltic mission, Elder Wolfgram and Elder Fox baptized a lady named Maarika Valling. This sister knew the church to be true and wanted to have her family join her in the church. She was able to introduce her niece, Selena Shuvalova to the missionaries. Selena joined the church and 1 1/2 years ago came to Bulgaria to serve a mission. Friday night we attended a farewell party for her and her aunt. Here we learned the story of their conversion. It is excitinig to see the fruits of the labors of our wonderful missionaries. We know Elders Wolfgram and Fox and I hope they understand the extension of their work has not stopped. Sis. Shuvalova was a wonderful missionary and we know many seeds were planted by her. Both Selena and Maarika are convinced that more of their family will join the church in the not too distant future.

Saturday we held the first of another round of Super Saturday conferences. We love these activities and hope that those who attend gain some spiritual insights into the gospel We focused our events on the Last Supper to the Resurrection of our Savior. We heard the strong testimonies of some of the youth there, and feel an understanding of the sacrifice of our Savior was more firmly implanted into the minds of all those who attended. Today we had the opportunity to speak in our Plovdiv Branch. It is always a privilege to talk to the Bulgarians about their responsibilities as members, to love and strengthen each other, and to help others enjoy the blessings of the gospel that they enjoy.

Daria, Dida, Svetislav, and Miglena participate in a panel discussion on the events of the last day of our Savior

This is a Scripture Mastery game where the students are using straws to move together the puzzle pieces of a scripture they had memorized.

Scripture Baseball, answering questions on the last day of our Savior.
This is a picture of our branch missionaries, Sister Dahle, Elder Wahlquist, Sis. Wakefield, Elders Kingsley, Jacobson, Hammond.