#39 "Christmas 2015" (By Grandma)

Almost church time.

I just read Dad's message to you and realized that he told you everything.  So I don't need to recount our Christmas activities.  He said I always put a different spin on things and that is true, but his account is actually quite good.

Perhaps you would be interested in a few details that he missed.  Christmas isn't Christmas without preparing some Christmas goodies, so I'll tell you about them.

I make rice krispy squares at Christmas.  But this year I didn't have any rice Krispies, so I tried cocoa puffs.  Yuk.  They were nasty.

I also make chex mix.  You can't buy any kind of chexes.  So I bought a package of something that had some pretzels, small crackers, and little cheese-like things in it.  I made the mixture to pour over it :wocestershire sauce, butter, and WAIT.... I didn't have seasonal salt.  So I tried some plan salt.  I toasted it all in the oven.  WAIT I don't have an oven.  So I put it in the roaster over.  The mixture was edible, but didn't taste at all like Chex Mix.  

I needed some no-bake cookies.  Cocoa  WAIT :  they don't have cocoa here, sugar, oats, butter.  I tried using Nesquick.  Hmm.  They were okay, but not too tasty.

I like chocolate turtles.  I found some chocolate bars and some salted peanuts. I melted the chocolate and added the nuts.  They were okay, but would have been better with plain peanuts.

I bought 12 pomegranates.   I opened them and got out all the seeds, cut up apples and pears, oranges, and kiwis.  I made a very nice fruit salad, but forgot to add the kiwi at the last minute.  The kiwi is still in the refrigerator.  

Dad bought a box of candy for me, but forgot to read the ingredients carefully.  They were made with coffee.  I don't think it would have hurt me, but I don't even like it.  

WE certainly missed all the delicious items that all of you prepare at Christmas time.  Please save some for us when we return.

Love,

Mother

#38 "Christmas" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

Talk about a tizzy. Last Tuesday, both Grandma and I were minding our own business while trolling the internet for important information when, Zing! Suddenly, all of our requests and internet connections were being sent to the main website of the local, government-run internet company. We couldn’t look up anything if we had wanted in the worst way. Grandma said, "Call Murat." He is the person at the relocation agency who seems to know about these kinds of things. I called him. He asked, "Have you paid your internet bill?" I answered, "No. I haven’t seen an email statement, as promised." He said, "Go to the main internet office and call me so that I can explain your problem." So off I went. It is just over a mile walk, and I was pretty sure where to go. I found the place and called the fellow just before I talked to a nice young lady sitting behind a very official looking desk. He explained to her what had happened. She then spent four or five minutes madly typing on her keyboard and then led me to the counter where she said I would pay my bill. It turned out that we were more than six weeks behind in our payments. I gladly paid. The fellow surmised that the email notices had gone into a spam file. (I have occasionally had trouble receiving emails sent from computers in Turkey.) As I walked home in triumph, I called Grandma. She said, "I still can’t get the internet. The system keeps flipping me to the internet company’s webpage." So dejectedly I walked back. Just as I was about to walk through the door, Grandma said, "O, I am finally in the internet." I stopped, felt the relief washing over me, and walked back to the apartment. We now have a plan when we shall pay each month. No more crises. I hope.

For the first time in six months, I climbed on a bike and went for a ride. It felt good. But lest you or I become too excited, this bike was not one that I would purchase. It is a bike supplied by the city for commuters and recreation riders. It has big fenders, one riding gear, and a little basket on the front. Its only adjustable feature is the seat’s height, which is not my height. With the help of a friend, I learned about the bike system here, purchased a biking card, and loaded it with 50 lira worth of rides — 2 lira for each hour or each ride, on a fleet of bikes that are parked every half mile or so for 15 miles south of our part of town. So I put on my riding gear (I have yet to buy a helmet, so I rode slowly), walked to the closest bike park, put my card against the card reader, punched in my password (a set of numbers), heard the latch click, pulled the bike out of its stall, and jumped on. I almost fell off. Or at least, I was really wobbly for the first fifty feet. Regaining my balance and dignity, I rode off for a six-mile ride. It felt really good to get a different exercise from walking. But the one gear and the lack of hills meant that I hardly worked up a sweat and did not breathe hard the whole time. After I get a helmet, I shall push the pace a little harder.

Christmas night, Grandma and I hosted a branch Christmas party. She was sure that the maximum number would be eight or nine. I was thinking that we could be surprised. So when it was my turn to buy some food items, I ramped up the numbers a bit. Sixteen came, including seven who were non members. A couple of people, a father and son who met YVs in Australia, came because of an invitation from our YVs. We played a game, ate a light meal, visited, and generally had a good time. The non-member wife of a member came without him (he is in the States visiting his family) and she was wonderful involving people in conversations, as was the less active wife of another member. The only people who didn’t speak Turkish were Grandma and I. But we knew what to do — we kept the food coming.

I love you and pray for you.

Grandpa Brown

PS.  We are headed to Istanbul again. We have become regulars at the airports. You would think that the airport screeners would just wave us through as their good friends. But new screeners keep showing up instead of the former ones. We are going to a zone conference. This one will (again) involve a member of the Council of the Twelve. (In our first six months, we shall have seen two members of the Twelve and two of the Seventy.) We shall have more to say about this experience next week. The plans for this set of meetings have been kept rather quiet and we made our plane reservations only a couple of days ago.

We were eight in our sacrament meeting this morning, with one investigator and one woman who had not attended since last August. One person was connected through Skype. So we totaled nine. The two women with six children did not join us via Skype because of sickness that began on Christmas day. I felt sorry for them. But we hope for better next week.

#37 "OVERDONE CHRISTMAS LETTER" (By Grandma)

Chrıstmas 2015

Chrıstmas letters can be long, medium or short.   So feel free to quit reading at any time.  If you read our blog you will already be up-to-date in our affairs.  If not, you can read on.  BTW our blog is pluperfect67.blogspot.com     Julianne updates it for us.

If you don’t mind, I’ll use our Overdone names for this epistle.  But all the Overdone children will have to write their own Christmas letters now.

Early this year Billy Sr got the bright idea that we ought to serve a mission.  Pluperfect, always willing to comply, finally said okay.  Then began the medical visits, the dental exams, the immunizations, the photos, the disposal of possessions, ecclesiastical interviews, and filling out forms.  

We were first interviewed in SLC for a Church History assignment.  It would be a stay-at-home mission.  We would write brief histories of church areas.  It sounded great to Pluperfect… Stay at home, take long baths, shop at Costco, do a little writing.  Perfect mission!!!!  But Billy Sr thought it was not the right assignment.

So, he said we need to push the “submit” button and formally apply for a mission.  Pluperfect resisted for a while, and finally pushed SEND.  And then we waited.  A call came to California.  Hmmm.  California?  We hadn’t thought of that.  Oh, well, we can still drive to Costco there.  Done!  

But wait, not quite.  We had a phone call from SLC asking if we’d consider another location.  Always adventurous, we said “yes”.  He said “put away your golf clubs and Bermuda shorts”, you’re going to Turkey, a new mission.  Gulp!  Hmmm.  Okay, what language do they speak?

So we started paying attention to Turkey.  We’d taken our children there more than 25 years ago.  We remember it being very hot and not being able to find anything to eat.  But we found things had changed a little.  It was still hot, but we could find lots of stuff to eat.

So our life of comfort in the USA changed dramatically this summer.  We arrived in Istanbul, spent two days and then flew to Izmir to begin our adventure.  Earlier a couple had found a furnished apartment for us.  They helped us get settled.  Then they flew back to Istanbul and we were “alone”. 

The first thing we noticed was that it was always hot.  Pluperfect’s hair wilted into wet wisps.  Her normal beauty was abandoned.  It was too hot to cook in the apartment, so we went to an outdoor café every evening.  It wasn’t until later that we discovered they all had indoor sections that were smoke-free and air-conditioned.  Most of the diners were in their 20-30’s and all were gorgeous.  Not a wispy hair anyplace.  There wasn’t an older couple visible the whole summer.  We don’t know where they were. 

Billy Sr enrolled in a Turkish class.  He said that all of the other students were brilliant and seemed to understand the teacher with no difficulty.  He came home with tons of homework and studied diligently.  He was loathe to admit that his age may be catching up with him.  Pluperfect had already accepted her age limitations and chose to stay home.  It is our consensus though that Turkish is the most difficult language we have encountered.  And we have learned several languages.  It can take up to 15 syllables to make up a Turkish word.  (only slightly exaggerated).  We have sympathy for the hard-of-hearing.  Living in a country with a different language is like that.  You have no idea what is being said around you.  If you do pick up a word or two, you can’t make a conversation with it.    

We live a block from the water front.  Pluperfect likes to go walking along the Kordon and watch the cruise ships pull in.  A time or two she has considered becoming a stowaway on those ships.  But their security is too tight. 

Billy Sr has had withdrawals about his bike riding.  He has taken to walking, but he really hates walking.  There are actually bike rental stations along the Kordon, but the seats are too low for Billy Sr.  He may manage to rent one eventually.  But he is able to read his Turkish study cards when he walks, so all is not lost.

We have missed tons of grandchildren stuff.  We haven’t seen an athletic event for six months, nor a musical performance.  We did see a movie.  We have no TV and can’t stream shows from the USA.  They are all blocked.  Our favorites are Downton Abbey and NCIS.  So we will have a lot to catch up on them when we return.  We couldn’t even watch General Conference.  We rely on Apps for our source of news.  We can’t read the newpapers. 

We have seen two couples from home:  The Durhams and the Petersons.  It was great to see them at a conference.  We fly to Istanbul fairly often.  Airfare here is quite cheap, and we have Zone Conferences monthly.  It just takes forever to get to and from the airport. 

A religious comment:  Paul, the Apostle, spent time in the area where we live.  We have read his writings with a new appreciation.   It is wonderful to study another part of the Early Church. 

We wish you all a Merry Christmas.  We miss all of you.  It would be such a luxury right now to be able to spend time with family and friends.  But we have a few new friends here, and we will enjoy them.

Love,

Billy Sr and Pluperfect

PS...FROM THE DAUGHTER...

For those of you who remember the first Overdone letters, they were shrowded in mystery.  My mom thought Christmas letters gave people "bragging rights" that they wouldn't normally take.  And even though our front door was always plastered in cards and letters from our closest family & friends, my mom chose to make a "tongue in cheek" Christmas letter.

The first year, she printed each letter on bright colored paper and made her slaves (us children) deliver them in the dark of night to the entire ward and she sent them annonymously to friends in the mail.  I think she sent a total of 7 letters that first year.  They were full of "bragging" about the accomplishments of her children (they were all embellished).  She included everything from  pictures of our great dental xrays and the sale price of lima beans at Smiths to the up-to-date gossip in the ward.  One time she put in a picture of my older sister's sunbeam class (she was now a teenager)...and that is when people started to figure out who the Overdone's were.  They recognized the children in the picture, and methodically figured out which mother must be masterminding the crazy Overdone letter.

# 36 "Surrounding traditions are not visible here." (By Grandma)

I have no idea who reads our blog.  We haven't made it very public.  We appreciate Julianne deciding what is appropriate to post and then posting for us.  If you'd like to communicate with us personally you can do that.  We'd love to hear from YOU...  Gayle:  pluperfect67@hotmail.com     Kent:  skb@byu.edu  

We have been out in the "field" now for six months.  We passed a very hot summer, and now we are cold.  But we can usually warm up eventually during the day.  As I type this, I have a heat unit blowing directly on me.  I'm wearing a jacket and warm leggings.  And I'm also eating pretzels.  Dad is taking a nap.  He is very good at shutting his eyes for a few minutes.  If I shut mine, I'm gone for the day!

Our life has picked up since young YV's were sent to our city.  They use our apartment to meet investigators and include us in their discussions.  Dad is always very helpful, and I'm only marginally helpful.  But I do pour water or juice and put out crackers.  They also Skype from our apartment.  It has been great to have some Turkish-speaking support.  Their work is very challenging, and I think great kudos should be given to young SV's (and sisters).  But there are no sisters in our mission.  They have lots of restrictions in this area but they seem to roll with the punches and be outstanding young men.  

I was moved to tears today in Church.  As I mentioned we meet in a hotel room.  Dad and I carry all the supplies for a church meeting.  Today we added 9 more members into the meeting via Skype.  It took a lot of figuring it out.  It took Dad's laptop, my I-pad, his I-phone, my Boss, and my I-phone to make it all work.  Good thing we purchased those items before we came.  And good thing the YV's are good at making it all work.  We do have wifi in the hotel.  Eight of the people live about 4 hours away and one of the persons lives about 10 hours away from our meeting.  We are all members of our Branch.  We emailed them the songs we'd be singing prior to the meeting.  

Today we could see the 9 on the laptop monitor as we "performed" a regular sacrament meeting for the 9 of us in the room and the 9 of us on the screen.  That is the only way they can partake of the sacrament, because there are no priesthood holders where they live. 

I lead the singing.  I'm the only female voice and the only "musician".  I find the hymn on my i-Phone and play it on the Boss while we sing.  I also print out music sheets in English and Turkish for the meeting.  WE have a Turkish Hymn book with about 30 hymns in it.  Someone, someday, will translate more.  I've noticed that when I lead the singing, no one ever looks at me at all.  I could be lighting sparklers and no one would notice.  But those on the monitor today looked at me today.  I felt validated!

One of the YV's gave the Christmas story today, and Dad spoke about Mary and Elizabeth.  (Dad speaks almost every week)  Dad's talk was translated as he spoke.  The YV translated his own talk.  I had made some treats for after the meeting.  One of the members told me early on, that they needed some refreshment at church.  So I provide that minimal service.  Today we had some cheetos-like things, sliced apples, and no-bake cookies.  (I don't have an oven).  Sometimes I provide nuts or orange wedges.  We don't have a Branch budget, so I'm pretty minimal in my offerings.  It helps calm the hunger pains for a little while.  The hotel provides water.  

We are trying to feel good about Christmas.  We, of course feel good about the Savior.  But the surrounding traditions are not visible here.  We did purchase a Christmas tree, and we might purchase a gift for one another.   We'll stuff some little stockings for the YV's and two YA's.  We'll have a Branch social at our house on Christmas night, but we've already heard of several who won't be coming.  So we will probably have about ten or fewer.  I hope we can make it a warm event.

The internet is a wonderful source for Christmas now.  The church has made wonderful recordings available.  We have watched some of the Bible Videos, and we listen to some of the Christmas music.  Oh to even hear a ward choir right now would be wonderful.  

Our neighborhood did celebrate "night out for shopping".  Dad mentioned it in his letter.  I don't think I can add much to his description.  Picture yourself on the front row of a rock concert for 8 hours and it will give you an idea of our last two evenings.  Our windows were shut, and it didn't make any difference.  I put in earplugs, and it didn't dim the noise at all.  So I just stuffed myself in a corner and ate chocolate!

I hope you all stay warm and comfortable this week.  Give everyone hugs and say it is from grandma.

Mom/Grandma

# 35 "Winter Cometh" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

To say that I was moved doesn’t cut it. Rather, I actually began to tear up when we began our sacrament service this morning because I could see two parties on my laptop screen in distant cities who had joined us by Skype. For the first time, they had joined us visually and orally for a church service. And it was wonderful. Partly, it was a matter of a couple of YVs who understand the electronics world making things happen. Partly, it had to do with our surroundings — in a building with a good wifi connection. With the laptop acting as a camera focused on the speaker’s podium and sacrament table, and with my iPhone acting as a microphone, the effort to fold these people into our meeting succeeded. And I was thrilled. In one case, one person joined us and, in another, eight joined us, including children. We were nine in our physical room where the broadcast originated, including a couple of investigators. The grand total was eighteen.

"But Hey," you will say, "didn’t you write about this kind of hookup last August, promising distant branch members that they would be a part of a sacrament meeting soon?" Ahhhh. Welllll. Yessss. I did write such a thing. The upshot is that you can’t accuse old Brown of moving too rapidly and getting things out of whack. No sireee. Just wait. And wait. And wait. Eventually, it will happen just as I promised. As you can tell, I am most pleased that it did.

Grandma will probably say something, if not a lot, about the noise from the last couple of evenings around here. She noticed signs a week or so ago about some kind of celebration in the area, a celebration of shopping for the Season. Friday, the 18th, came. In the morning, one of the small streets by us was completely closed and the local police were hustling cars off the sides of the roadway. Workers had begun to build some sort of long platform that looked suspiciously like a fashion show runway. Merchants were moving some of their store items outside onto tables under canopies. At one end of our street other workers set up a bandstand complete with waving spotlights and big speakers. Oh, yeah. And then came the music. Not in the soft, reverent tones of Christmas, but in the loud, gyrating rhythms of rock and roll and other such music. (I don’t think of some kinds of music as real music; I heard some of that too.) The banging and wailing lasted well into the night. I took a half sleeping pill and finally went to sleep. Last evening, Saturday, it happened all over again except that the fashion show runway moved to another nearby street and the music began all over again — from about 4:30 until after midnight. Again, I took a pill. When I awoke in the middle of the night, I could hear workmen outside taking down the fashion runway and the bandstand. They pounded and pounded and pounded some more. But the bandstands and such things are all gone now. I am feeling much better about tonight.

Yes, Christmas is coming. Yes, I see decorations all around us in store fronts. Yes, people are buying gifts. Yes, we are going to host a branch Christmas party. But it is sure hard to gather the right items for celebrating as we would like, especially savory foods. We have visited a bunch of stores, small and large, looking for the Christmas foods that we enjoy. Mostly, they are not in those stores. That is not to say that the foods which appeal to the taste buds of our neighbors aren't in the stores. They obviously are. And they are wonderfully fine. I am talking about things like turkey and pumpkin, rice crispies (for rice crispy squares) and chex cereals (for chex mix), and a variety of beans for Grandma's three-bean salad. But my complaints are not yet at the pitch of a whine. Whatever happens during the next couple of weeks will surely mean that I have to watch my diet during January and February. As a Jewish acquaintance said to me once about the Jewish holidays in September and October, "It's dangerous time of year," especially if you don't want to gain weight.

You all doubtless know that Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, comes upon us in two days. We are expecting temperatures in the low 60s. Summer can’t be too far behind. Happy Winter Solstice!

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown

#34 "Slippers" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

Usually, slippers don’t rate much in the world of news. But mine do. At least, they seem to rate right up there with a lot of worthless sports and, especially, political news. I bought the slippers late in October to keep my feet off the cold stone floors of our apartment. As you will recall, I had experimented with two pairs of socks to keep my feet warm, to no avail. So I purchased a pair of lined slippers. So far, they have worked pretty well, except when they don’t. Yes, my feet are off the cold floors (the radiant heating from the floor only reaches a certain point in our apartment, keeping our bedroom and foyer warm, with little else heated). But the slippers seem to be other-handed. That is to say, the left slipper seems to be right handed, with the heel pushing outward to the left as if pushed by my right hand, and the right slipper seems to be left handed, with the heel pushing outward to the right. Does that make sense? In effect, my heels are always resting on the floor and the back part of the slippers act independent of my foot needs. What is more, because of the inner lining, I can’t get them off when I want them off and they will fall off when I want them on. Figure that one out. So I find myself paying a lot of attention to my walking inside the apartment. For example, I now consciously walk pigeon-toed so that the heels of the slippers stay under the heels of my feet, and I have to keep pushing my toes into the ends of the slippers. And so on and so forth. Now don’t you agree that that was interesting news? And I included no ads which the evening news does without your permission.

For the second time, we hosted a member of the quorums of the Seventy. It was a nice outing in Ephesus with him and his wife. The weather was sunny and cool. We knew them from our most recent stint in Jerusalem (2009–10). This time, we enjoyed the MP and his wife as well. We went through the site with the audio tour. It is my preferred way to visit. In the evening, members of the branch came to a very nice meeting with the four guests. The Seventy member paid special attention to those who are here long term because it is they who will carry forward the future program of the Church in this area.

Today was to be the big day for finally including persons in our sacrament service who live at a distance—by Skype of course. I first mentioned this possibility last August in a communiqué to branch members. (There must be a message in this kind of delay, but I don’t know what.) We had run a Skype test with church members in a town south of here. A little after 8 a.m. this morning, I received a call from one of the sisters. She said the municipal authorities had turned off the electricity all over the city for the day. Hence, she and the others would not be able to hook into the internet for our sacrament service. I could hear the frustration in her voice. So I suggested that I call her when we were ready to undertake the sacramental portion of the service. At that point, we would use my cell phone as a microphone so that they could hear the words of the prayers and thereafter partake of the sacramental emblems. We did so with success. She later reported that they had heard the prayers and partaken of the sacrament. They followed that with a general conference talk in her home—in Turkish or German translation, I don’t know which. Next week, I hope, we shall attempt again to reach them by Skype. We shall then put my laptop on a podium as a camera to see the whole service and my iPhone at another podium to serve as a microphone. With the laptop, by the end of the month, I am thinking that we can add a number of others to the group who sees and hears the service. To achieve that will make a dream come true for me.

Today I was surprised when four investigators showed up. (I don’t count a seven-month old baby.) The YVs had met and taught one of the fellows, a lawyer who found a website and indicated an interest in learning about the Church. (He says that he likes to learn about different religions.) The YVs held a session with him in our apartment almost a week ago. And he had a lot of good questions from reading the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. The other three were a father, mother, and 16-year-old son who had met a couple in Sidney, Australia, from Moses Lake, Washington, who were serving a mission there. The couple knew the second counselor in our branch presidency from the days when the senior fellow was in the Moses Lake stake presidency. When the referral came, the YVs hopped on it. They have yet to meet with the family, but their phone calls brought them to us in time for our Sunday School lesson on repentance. I keep hoping that some of this activity will bear fruit.

We did a little Christmas shopping yesterday at a large store far, far away on the Metro (did you catch the ringing endorsement of the next Star Wars movie?). It was worth the trip. Because we are planning a branch activity in our apartment Christmas night, it was important that we begin to acquire items that will make the evening sparkle a little and will help in the food-serving part. The most noticeable acquisition are six small Christmas stockings. We bought two for us, two for the YVs, and two for the YSA brother and sister who are going to school here. With those perched in plain view on a desk in the living room, and with the small, one-meter tall tree now set up, it is beginning to look a bit like Christmas. Outside, we see Christmas décor in shops and apartment windows. But those decorations, we are told, are for New Years. Christmas is treated as a touch of Christian propaganda around here. And that's ok. But around our apartment, those items are designed for Christmas. And that's the truth.

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown

#33 "Happy Birthday Shoshauna" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

Happy birthday to Shoshauna on this day. She was born a long time ago, it seems. And when her birthday arrives, the end of the year is close and Christmas is even closer. Those events are worth celebrating, as is Shoshauna’s birthday.

During the past week we have been introduced to the world of holding YV discussions in our apartment. In one case, the person was a young student; in another, it was a professional person, a lawyer. The student seemed a little nervous. The lawyer was not and he had a bunch of nicely framed questions after reading First Nephi, chapters one through eleven, such as why it was necessary that Laban die at the hands of his relative. For that one, we essentially repeated back the reasons the Lord told Nephi. Other possible aspects exist in this story, but there was little reason to explore those with an investigator. We shall see whether either one of these individuals comes to church services in the next couple of weeks. That will be a measure of the person’s real interest.

Three days ago we bought a comforter for our bed. It is made of cotton, not the real nice (and expensive) goose down. To that point, I was getting up in the middle of the night and putting on a second pair of pajama bottoms to keep warm. With the comforter, no reason for that kind of action. I am warm, warm under that comforter. Now I am happy, happy during the night.

This past week I found myself scouting a couple of places to visit, one the ancient site of Roman-era Smyrna (see Revelation 2:7–10) which I had visited before, and the other a nearby museum that I had learned about. Some special visitors will show up during the coming week (I shall write about them next week). Besides going to Ephesus, the real attraction to people who come here, they will have time one morning to explore some other places. Like it or not (and I do like it), I am becoming something of a tour guide for friends and special visitors. The weather will be nice, clear and in the mid-sixties in the afternoon. Eat your heart out.

In my mind, I had thought of a way to do a little work on my Turkish. I had decided to approach a fellow who runs a little grocery shop and ask whether we could speak a little Turkish together. I was thinking of a more or less regular basis. Well, I think my fractured Turkish did not come across too well. He agreed to meet at a time one day last week. I came. He moved a couple of his stools between the two sides of the shop where he keeps the fresh vegetables and fruits. We sat down. Then he began to name all of the vegetables and fruits. I had brought a notebook and asked him to write the names in the notebook. He did. Then, like a good teacher, he went over everything a second time. That was it. He then said (I think) that I needed to practice my greetings like "How are you," etc. Now I have to find an excuse to go back and see whether I can start again with him. In another vein, I was mildly encouraged (very mildly, I should say) that I could understand bits of the discussion between the YVs and one of their contacts. But my vocabulary is very limited and I don’t track the endings that people put on the ends of their words. So I have a lot of work to do. One thing I am doing is memorizing things to say if I say a prayer in a church meeting and if I bear testimony. One small step at a time.

You know those slippers that I bought to keep my feet warm while resting my feet and walking on our stone floors? The slippers have been doing their duty, but they seem to slip sideways on my feet when I walk. For some reason, the heels of the slippers end up to the sides of my heels. So I have taken to walking pigeon-toed so that the slippers stay on properly. It sort of works. And sort of doesn't. I just know that I am paying a lot more attention to walking than I have done in the past. Whether that is a sign of something odd I don't know. I have to keep going like this only until next June when the outside heat kicks up and the stone floors don't feel cold anymore.

I love you and pray for you all.

Grandpa Brown

#32 "Thanksgiving & other Toothsome Things" (By Grandpa)

ear Grandchildren,

One of the emerging plans around here has to do with a youth conference and YSA gathering next year. We have made friends with an agent whose late father used to assist BYU tours in this region of the world. I had asked this friend for help in getting a handle on what facilities and costs might be like for such activities. He came back with unusually low estimates. We went with him last Tuesday to a coastal town to see the hotel that he had contacted and its facilities. It turns out that the manager is a college friend who, incidentally, attended Harvard University when he was younger. The hotel is very nice and sits across the road from a public beach. One of my thoughts has been, "I hope that our young people don’t pull this place apart." I mentioned the trip in our branch presidency meeting and the father of an unbaptized youth asked whether his son could attend. You know the answer to that question. Naturally, I said yes.

Thanksgiving here is largely a private affair. That’s because no one celebrates it. Except people like us. By chance Grandma learned that a hotel in town was serving a Thanksgiving buffet. So she made a reservation for us and the YVs. It was a spectacular meal. One of the YVs said that it might have been his best Thanksgiving meal ever. We started with a cornucopia of salads and dressings. Next came the main dishes, including turkey and roast beef (but, alas, no cranberry sauce). The dessert table was piled high with various delights, though no pumpkin pie as you and I know it. The pumpkin pie at this dinner was covered with a sweet blackberry topping. Another pie was covered with walnuts. And so it went. One delectable item after another until I could not eat another thing.

Yesterday, we drove with my first counselor to a city a couple of hours north of us. We were to meet a sister who lives near the city. It took us several phone calls to find her standing by the side of the main road running through town. The impressive thing about her was that she was in Istanbul the day before and climbed on a bus at 8:30 in the evening. She rode all night and arrived in the city about 8 o’clock yesterday morning. There she waited for us until we arrived about 12:30. Only about 11:00 did she call to learn whether we were on the way. We had no idea about her long bus ride until she told us after we asked her how she came to meet us (I thought naively that she might own a car; she doesn’t). She is retired but still works as a psychologist. She takes care of her parents and has a daughter attending a distant university. After a very nice seafood lunch on an island to which we drove by a pair of bridges, we stopped at a quiet place overlooking the sea and had a short sacrament service in the car. It was a special moment. She said that she had not partaken of the sacrament in five years.

I was hoping for a crowd of a dozen of more people at sacrament meeting today. The YVs had talked about two or three people who might come. So did one of my counselors. In fact, none came and we were nine. Except a tenth person sat outside waiting for my counselor because the people at the hotel desk could not tell him, or would not tell him, where we were meeting. This is the second time that something like this has happened to one of his associates who has come to meet with us. But the YVs hopped right on the opportunity and spent time after services talking with the fellow and making arrangements to meet him at a later date. After such a poor start, I am hoping for something good to come out of all this. On the positive side, this man seemed to be in good humor even after the hour’s wait.

A lot of media attention has been lavished on events on our side of the world during recent days. But we feel a huge distance between ourselves and the toll-taking occurrences that happen a few hundred miles away. We can only hope that good things come out of difficulties, and that leaders, elected and otherwise, find solutions that bring stability to the lives of their people. At the moment, I don't sense that we are teetering on any brink. I judge that we are far back from any precipitous edges. And that is reassuring to me.

I love you and pray for all of you.

Grandpa Brown

#31 "Twas 3 Days After Thanksgiving" (By Grandma)

Thanksgiving dinner at the hotel with the YV's.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.  I hear that you were scattered here and there.  I hope the soccer tournaments went well.  I hope the driving was safe.  I hope you all had enough to eat.  

The turkey...it was a little dry with no cranberry sauce.

We, of course, missed all of you.  It just felt like another day to us.  We did have a very nice meal at a Marriott Hotel in the evening with the YV's.  We all feasted, and we were treat royally.  The turkey was a little bit small, but it was very juicy.  I don't know how it was cooked.  I didn't see cranberry sauce or stuffing.  But I do have some cranberry sauce in my cupboard and some stale bread, so I can make up for it.

The deserts.

We have been spending a bunch of time trying to get emergency kits ready for us and the young YV's.  (by assignment)  We have a list that was probably made up in SLC where there are lots of supplies.  If I could just have 15 minutes in a Wal-mart I could get it taken care of, but not so!   I think I'll just stuff the M & M's in my kit and call it a day.  

We all live in apartments with only one exit.  So we have to think how we would get to safety if we had a fire.  We have considered hanging ropes out the window.  I'm not sure I could scale down the wall of our apartment building on a rope.  But I think the likelihood of a fire in our apartment is pretty unlikely.  The building is of stone, and the floors are marble.  So not much could burn.  We did just got CO and Smoke detectors that came from Germany.  

We've spent the last two week-ends visiting members in far away places.  Dad's counselor has a car, and he has driven us to these places.  We have met interesting people this way.  But these members live too far away to attend any church meetings in the country.  Our trip yesterday was up north about 3 hours.  WE met the member on the road.  She had taken a bus from her far away village to meet us.  Then we drove to a restaurant on the sea, ate and visited.  She is a psychologist.  She said by far her clients biggest problems involve stress and anxiety.  She speaks English well enough to be understood.  She looked gorgeous.  The Turks really dress nicely.  All of their eyebrows look like Dana's.  

We had a nice church service today.  Not many were there... 9 of us.  But the quality was very nice.  We had talks on the Holy Ghost and on the Sabbath Day.   After that we had a SS class taught by the YV's.  We reviewed the Thirteen Articles of Faith.  They mentioned that that document really explains who we are.  I memorized them when I was in Primary and I can still recite them.... 65 years later.  Anyone want to hear me recite them?  It someone asks you what you believe, you can review the 13 Articles of Faith in your mind and talk about some of those points.  

I hope you all have a good week. 

Love,

Mother

#32 "Istanbul, Istanbul" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

During the past two weeks we have spent nine days in Istanbul and only five here. Quite a change of scenery. This time we attended a conference on religious freedom and sustainable development. One of the organizers is a law professor at BYU and a good friend. The really big difference in our latest visit was how we got to and from our hotel. Yes, it makes a difference. This time to Istanbul, we were met at the exit from the airport by a chauffeured van -- a Mercedes, no less, with leather, bucket seats that faced one another. A young female college student met us as we walked out of the baggage claim area and called the van driver. He showed up five minutes later and off we went. When we left the conference, another similar van was waiting to drop us off at the airport. Grandma was really happy not to have to think of joining the crowded metro gang or trying to communicate with a taxi driver.

The conference focused a lot on how people in far flung places around the globe (yes, people came from very long distances, including from China and New Zealand and Canada) deal with human needs when developing economic strengths in societies and also deal with their religious faiths, whatever they may be. A lot was said about how governments and civic organizations and religious leaders can effectively work together to produce healthy and encouraging situations for the populations whom they serve. The one warning sounded at the conference concerned people and organizations who appear to be helping but are really advancing their own interests.

We had gone to see whether we could meet anyone from our city. I scoured the list of participants and their short bios and found no one from our general neighborhood. Most Turks were from either Istanbul or Ankara. One of my contributions was to give a Senator from Uruguay my card with the Bible Videos and Messiah websites listed on the back of the card. She is an attorney who works with the church law of the Catholic Church, so it is difficult to know whether she will actually call up a Bible Videos episode and watch it. But a person never knows what might happen when another person views something like that and the Spirit of the Lord touches that person's heart. Ever hopeful.

We went to the city of Denizli yesterday to meet with a couple of fellows who are refugees from Iran. One is a church member and the other has been investigating. The church member has not seen or heard from any family members back home in thirteen years because it could be dangerous for them. It was a touching moment to hold a sacrament meeting in a 10x10 foot apartment room where the church member has been living for the past almost three years. He holds the Melchizedek Priesthood and has had permission to hold his own sacrament service by himself. But it made a huge difference to him that three of us came to visit him (Grandma, my first counselor, and myself), a three-hour ride in a car. He has been trying to get to the US but has had to battle challenges in the bureaucratic world of the US government. A religious relief agency is now helping him and he has hope. I pray that he will finally make it.

The local YVs have held a couple of Skype sessions in our home with people who have expressed interest through a web page out there. And they have made some contacts on their own. They are making some progress, I think. We are happy to help in any way we can.

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown

#31 "Almost Thanksgiving (By Grandma)"

I guess I should read your father's emails before I write my own, so we don't duplicate so much.  I think he wrote up our last two weeks in a fine matter.  As you know he does have a way with words.  

But I might add a few additional insights to our trip.  Most exciting for me was taking a real bath.  I haven't seen a bathtub for 4 1/2 months.  And this one even had hot water, but I didn't have a novel to read.  When I have aches and pains, I keep saying that a hot bath would relieve me greatly.  So I did soak for a few minutes.

I was able to break away from the conference for a couple of hours and go to the Grand Bazaar.  We went there almost 30 years ago with four of our children.  Remember when you purchased your leather coats?  I didn't venture very far into the bazaar, but I heard plenty of "hello, where are you from", "step into my shop", and "come and spend your money here".  I was determined to not buy anything.  We have enough stuff at home, and we don't need anything else.  But I did purchase a couple of bowls and was given some apple tea, and a nativity.

One one day I took the Metro to the Spice Market.  I was looking for sage.  I found sage, oregano, mint, and parsley.  So I'm well-supplied now.  A metro ran right in front of our hotel, so I was able to flee from the meetings now and then.  Dad diligently attended all the meetings.

The meetings were actually very good.  A number of participants were from BYU.  There was always a moderator and then about 4-5 panelists.  There were probably about 350 people at the conference and they came from all over the world.  

I know you are all interested in the food.  We ate very well.  Of course, the hotel had breakfast.  It was pretty typical of this part of the world.... lots of stuff, cheeses, breads, veggies, juices, eggs, even soup, cereals.  I had lentil soup twice, because it is now my favorite soup.  Sometimes luncheons and dinners were part of the event.  I haven't eaten so much in a long time.  And I do love the food here.  Before each meal, I'd vow that I would only eat a small portion, but I usually ended up cleaning my plate, as I was taught to do. 

The final evening we were taken by buses to a Whirling Dervish Show.  We'd seen Whirling dervishes in Egypt and they were quite entertaining.  But this was a religious spiritual show and quite different.  It was an interesting cultural experience.  

Twice we were driven to restaurants for dinner with a group of friends.  Some of the friends were from BYU, and some were couples here, and some were new friends.  

We were very happy to receive the care package from Debbie P. that you all contributed to.   I opened most of it and repacked it.  We haven't read the notes yet.  I did notice some special Halloween candy, but it looked like all the good kinds had been pilfered.  But thank you anyway.  I haven't decided what to do with all the loot.  I may wait until Christmas to bring out the M & M's.

We seem to be interconnected with the YV's here.  They come to our apartment often to Skype.  Today they came to dinner with 3 other members.... seven of us.  Dad's counselor loaned me a crock pot, so I prepared an almost "normal" dinner.  Beef is very expensive here, so I only had small portions of beef, with lots of carrots, potatoes, and onions.  I even made a gravy without my blender and without drippings.  I think it turned out okay.   Most of the food was consumed.  The YV's helped with the dishes, and the others helped prepare the food.  I'm grateful for the crockpot.  You cannot purchase them here.

We have planned our Thanksgiving dinner.  We will go to a Hotel.  You can't buy turkey here, nor pumpkin stuff.  So that should work out fine.  We've invited the YV's to go with us.  We are the only Americans here.  The MP wife showed me a flyer for the Marriott in Istanbul for a Thanksgiving dinner.  So I checked with our hotel here, and they have a buffet dinner that night also.  WE received special permission for the YV's to stay our a little later than their curfew.

Dad mentioned our experience yesterday of going to visit an Iranian refugee and bringing the sacrament to him.  His entire living space is about as big as my downstairs office.  He has lived there for 3 years.  I've been helping him with his life story.  He sends it to me, and I retype it.  He speaks good English, but it is harder for him to write it. He joined the church in Armenia.  He suffered many afflictions, including 7 years in jail in Iran prior to that.  He hasn't seen his daughter for 13 years.  But his faith is strong.  He is positive.  HE is gracious.  He is teaching his friend about the gospel in his native language. 

I'm amazed that Nashelle and Daniel are going to open a theater.  Roger would be the perfect partner if he lived closer.  He has helped with lighting and sound with a number of community and church productions in his city.  And he loves doing that.  He knows just what type of lighting and sound is best.  Maybe they could consult him from afar.  

Someone asked me what we do all the time here.  I really couldn't answer that.  Our days vary, but we seem to keep busy.  Sometimes we respond to just what comes up.  For example, the YV's may drop over because they have a skype lesson.  And then I go into work mode and feed them.  They had to find and furnish a new apartment.  They still don't have gas.  So no hot water, or gas for their oven.  They have had event after event of disasters from IKEA, which surprises me.  IKEA has really been awful to deal with.  But they are really great YV"s and hold our feet to the fire.

Our condolences go out to the Moon family.  They have posted lots of photos on FB.  I've thought of the loss for Ann and Clarence... But Carol was also a mother, a sister, and a grandmother.  So many people will miss her.  

Well, I love you all.  Thanks for your notes, emails, treats, and support.

Love,

Mother

#30 "Keeping Airports Busy" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

Grandma and I are becoming pretty acquainted with the airports in Istanbul and our town as well as with taxi routes and costs. Our town’s airport is much the better to travel through. There we face only one security check whereas in Istanbul we face two, one upon arriving at the airport and the second after receiving our boarding cards. We have not noticed a lot of difference in the intensity of security scrutiny since the downing of the Russian flight over the Sinai Peninsula a couple of weeks ago. Except Grandma observed someone losing his shaving cream container today because it was too big. All of my liquid stuff is under sized except my pit poof. I suppose that the security people could throw my poof away if they chose. So far, I have been ok. Thursday we shall travel from Istanbul again, and then we are home for a while.

The YVs’ apartment already has become the talk of their fellow YVs. It sits in a nice, family neighborhood and is large, almost as large as our apartment. It also has a very nice view, which ours does not. It also has an oven, which ours does not. It also has a large shower, which ours does not. It also, well, you get the idea. But I am not jealous. Far from it. They found the place and they will enjoy living in it, I am sure. It is a fourth-floor walk-up, and that means 68 steps. They are welcome to all of them.

The rest of the mission conference this past week was excellent, even after the Apostle and his group had left for other destinations. The moving thing to me was the presence of YVs from Kazakhstan. Many of these people had served essentially without any attention being paid to them in that far away country until our president showed up. He has visited them twice since August. And he found a way to bring them to Istanbul for the fireside with the Apostle and for the conference. They were ecstatic to meet the other YVs from our side of the mission and to associate with them for four days before returning back, a distance of four time zones to fly. Think Los Angeles to Boston.

Friends from Provo showed up this week. They are in the country for a conference in Istanbul and we are joining them. But they wanted to visit Ephesus where the Apostles Paul and John were active for long parts of their ministries. So we went with them, hiring a van to take us to the site and bring us back. It was wonderful to catch up on their family and their life since it has been a long time we spoke to them last. Even though we rented head-sets at Ephesus that have a lot to say about the place, Grandma kept saying that I should do more talking since "they came to hear you." So I talked about items that I thought would be of interest to them, especially things that connect to New Testament events. I am still not sure that I am as complete at making observations there as I should be. I need to go by myself with a good guide book and just take my time walking through the site, much like I used to do in Nazareth at the Church of the Annunciation.

We are back in Istanbul. We left only last Thursday. The difference in this trip and the last was our escort. In prior trips, we have had to hire a taxi to get where we were going. Or take the crowded Metro that guarantees that we stand for an hour or so. This time, someone had ordered a Mercedes van, complete with leather seats, and a driver to take us to our hotel. We like the upgrade. I could take such upgrades all the time. The hotel is nice and sits in the most historic quarter of the city, complete with the Byzantine walls that were unable to keep out the Ottoman forces. I may like exploring a bit tomorrow.

I love you all and pray for you.

SKB

P.S. Thanks for the goodies that arrived in the suitcase carried by Debbie Peterson. She is really a good sport, and so is Julianne to see that we received the "shipment". Wow. Grandma has already posted a photo on facebook

#29 "We Are Like Pioneers" (By Grandma)

Durhams & Grandpa

Thank you for all the provisions you sent to use.  We haven't opened everything because we don't know if we should wait.  We are looking forward to gaining lots more pounds with all the goodies.  We all own Debbie P a debt of gratitude and Julianne for gathering everything up and everyone for their contributions.  

We had a great Mission Conference.  Our mission is small in numbers but huge in territory.  There are 4 time zones in our mission.  So it is unusual to have a visit from a member of the quorum of twelve apostles visit us.  We were able to spend two days with meetings with Elder Holland, his wife, and two other couples.  They have a lot of affection for this part of the world.  It was wonderful for me to see the commitment and strength exhibited by the young missionaries.  This has to be a difficult place to serve, but they learn the languages, and work hard to find those who may be interested in the church.  

We now have 2 YV's assigned to our area.  They have been in a hotel while searching for a place to live.  Again, these young men are outstanding.  I'm amazed at their language skills.  This language is very hard.  They are positive, hard working, and willing to help anyone.  We've gone shopping with them and invited them to dinner while they are homeless.  But their beds were delivered yesterday and they are about settled.

I thought church today was especially touching.  There were only 11 of us there but that is a good number.  Three were non-members.  The elders helped with the translation.  Dad and I carry everything to the hotel where we hold church.  We were part way there this morning and dad said he'd forgotten the sacrament cloth.  So he had to walk back and get that.  I always take a little treat or food.  Today I took orange sections, some curly cheese things and some cookies.  The hotel provides water.  Sometimes I buy baklava.  

I liked church because a newly ordained Aaronic Priesthood member spoke.  He is about 22, but was able to baptize his sister a few weeks ago.  He has been a member for awhile but has not had the priesthood.  He has a light in his eyes.  Dad also spoke about the Priesthood. He told about Moses and Aaron.  

Elder Holland made it clear in his remarks that we are like pioneers here.  We need not worry about numbers, but doing things in the right way.  

It is hard to not worry about numbers.  Every Sunday I wonder if anyone is going to come to church and when they do I'm very excited to see them.

I'm writing this from our hotel in Istanbul.  Yes we are here again!  Cole Durham is in charge of a conference here.  But he and Louise came to visit us prior to the conference and we went to Ephesus.  They were our first visitors!  It was so good to see them.

Sorry it is cold there.  We sometimes have to wear sweaters here....

I love you all,

Mother