#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

#28 "413 more days..." (By Grandma)

We have 413 more days left.  I guess the good news is, I haven't looked at my counter app for several weeks.  So the time is passing.

We have had a flurry of activity in our little neck of the woods.  Often we have nothing particular scheduled for the day and stuff just happens.  Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is a pain.  We spend much more time than previously doing such things as paying utility bills.  We have to hand-walk them to a payment center.  And, of course, they never come at the same time, so we make 3-4 trips.

We have patiently been awaiting our wifi.  We still don't have it.  So we have to whittle little bits of time on our hotspot.  

Now and then I have to spend money on something.  Things here are usually less expensive than at home.  The way I justify an expense is thinking of what one trip to Costco would cost and go from there.  I can actually do a lot of things here for the cost of one trip to Costco.  Food is relatively inexpensive if you eat the way the natives do.  But if you want luxury items like peanut butter, you have to give it more thought.  

We participated in 3 baptisms in October.  I wrote about the first last week.  It began with a drenching rainy day, and ended with a beautiful sunny seaside baptism.  Yesterday we had 2 baptisms that dad performed.  The father of the children took us out to sea on his boat to a thermal pool where the baptism was performed.  Dad didn't even get chilled.  We had a nice service on the ship and thought of the miracle of all of this coming together.  It was a long day for us.  The event took place in a far away city.

Today a member of the branch said that the coming of Elder B had brought new life to the area and to him personally.  He said he very much needed answers to gospel questions and someone with insights.  At times I've listened to your father talk to him and thought he was talking his ear off.  But evidently this man reveres everything he says, and appreciates his knowledge.  As you know dad can expound on almost everything.

I assume you all know about Mary and Martha in the scriptures.  I think about that story a lot, and often there are debates about which is more valiant, etc.  I have decided that I am "a Martha", and that is okay.  I like doing things behind the scenes, but I don't enjoy being in charge, and I'm even restless at too much seriousness.  Dad and I seem to be able to work like that.  He says the profound things, and I help him when his computer crashes.  He has Branch Presidency meeting and I make Halloween treats in the kitchen.  He takes Turkish classes, and I crochet hotpads. You didn't know I did that did you?   We both shop for food.  He has cold feet, I have warm feet.  

But I have had to learn to shower like he does.  As I mentioned we have a tiny step-down shower with nothing mounted on the wall.  So it is like shampooing a dog when you take a shower.  But I've learned how to do that, and I'm actually coming out rather clean.  I would like to soak in a bathtub with a novel again, but I guess I'll have to wait 413 days for that.  

We'll go to Istanbul at least twice in November.  Elder H is coming this week-end and we will have a Mission Conference.  The Durhams will come a week later, and Louise is also coming and they will spend a couple of days with us, and then Cole is responsible for some sort of Religious Conference in Istanbul.  

We have enjoyed having two elders arrive our city, the first since the apostle Paul.  They are actually outstanding and very independent.  Currently they are in a hotel, and we are trying to find a reasonably price apartment for them.  We have invited them to dinner a couple of times.  We pretend they are our grandsons.  And we fed them pomengranets tonight. I thought I needed Rose to help prepare them.   I made chicken soup with barley.  They ate 3 loaves of bread. 

I hope you are all well.  Take care of one another.

Love,

Mother

#29 "Feet & Thermal Pools"(By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

For more than twenty years, I have lived with cold feet. My shoes come off, my feet grow cold. A simple formula. Except in the summers, of course. I have bought socks for the winter time that are supposed to keep feet warm. Not so. Now, with stone floors to walk on, my feet have gone bonkers. So I added another layer of socks. Same answer. Cold feet. A few nights ago, we went shopping with needed warm socks in mind. We didn’t find any. In sporting goods stores, the socks are light and designed to wick away moisture from the skin. Or so it is claimed. In other stores, all we saw were thin, cold socks. We came home and I was thinking that I might not experience warmth in my feet until next May or June. But then something almost magical happened. It has to do with heating our apartment.

With the onset of cooler weather, we were beginning to think of space heaters. We had hunted through our apartment for any heating devices and could find none. A heating combi is listed in our rental agreement. It is the gas heater that hangs in an enclosed porch in the back of the apartment. That appliance heats the hot water for the kitchen and bathrooms. Or so I thought. Before we actually went shopping for space heaters, I wrote an email to a fellow at the agency that found this apartment. He is the person who knows most about the physical characteristics of our apartment. He wrote back that our heating system is in our floor and is connected to the heating combi. The heat is radiant. At just that thought, my feet seemed to become a degree or two warmer. Eagerly, I tried to make the heater work. I failed miserably. The next morning early, Grandma found instructions on youTube and the device worked for about ten minutes before shutting down. What to do? I turned to the fellow who had told us about the radiant heat in our floors and asked him to call the heating company, since my call had netted nothing but frustration because I could not explain what I wanted, and ask it to send a technician. The next day, while our apartment and its floors were enjoying another cool day, a fellow arrived at the appointed hour, inspected the combi, took off the thermostat cover, fiddled with the metal couplings, put the cover back on, turned up the heat, and voila! the system cranked up. He said "Problem yok!" meaning "There’s no problem." And he promptly wrote out a bill for 50 Turkish Lira, about $17. These kinds of systems are not fast-acting. So it was about five or six hours later that we felt real heat coming from our stone floors. My feet rejoiced.

On Wednesday, two YVs came to Izmir. The first since the days of the ancient Apostles. We are really pleased to have them around. One speaks good Turkish, the other is still in the learning stage. We had bought Metro/Bus passes for them and had arranged for them to stay in a hotel. In the meantime, they have located a suitable apartment. We shall go with them to inspect the place before the day is over. They are hustlers. I like that.

Yesterday we went with my first counselor to a city in the southwest for a pair of baptisms. We reached the city in just over three hours and then spent another 45 minutes trying to get through the city to the house where the two children live, ages 10 and 8. In looking at a map of the city, I had forgotten to ask Google to give me a map with a description of how we should reach the home. A very bad oversight, I might add. We finally made it. I filled out the baptism records with the help of the member mother and then produced two baptism certificates in my best handwriting. Which is nothing to brag about. Off we went to their father’s touring boat that holds 46 people and rode the calm sea out to a place called Black Island where warm thermal water comes out into a walled basin. Three other boats were there enjoying the place. So we first decided to eat a wonderful lunch. Soon, the other boats left. All on the boat and I then walked to the short ladder that goes down into the thermal pool. I climbed down and the ten-year old boy followed me. He was clearly nervous but brave. After I baptized him, I baptized his younger sister. Then together we swam a bit in the pool. Someone took pictures of me swimming around and threatened to give them to authorities if ever I stepped out of line. It was a wonderful occasion to see two more people enter the Church through baptism and become members of our branch.

Today is election day in the country. People will be choosing a government that will lead them for the next several years. An earlier election this year led to an impasse when the competing parties tried to create a coalition. So everyone was back to square one and a new election was called. It will be interesting to see whether the economy will rebound following this day.

Tomorrow the second level of the Turkish class begins. I shall not be a part of this class. I feel a little sad about parting ways from the other class members. One person who will not be in the class is a woman who has suffered nose bleeds and has developed an allergy while here. She has gone back home for needed surgery. Naturally, our class did not create this problem for her. I just hope that she returns in a few weeks all healed and ready to join her husband. One might conclude that life here is tough. It is, but we are doing well. And enjoying the experience.

I love you and pray for you.

Grandpa Brown