#49 "NASASV/Not a 'strong ancient site visitor'" (By Grandma)

Dear Family,

I just read your dad’s weekly letter.  He reported I was not a “strong ancient site visitor”.  He said that because he’d gone to two ancient sites without me this week.  One, Ephesus, we’d visited 4 times so far, and the other Pergamon which is a 3-hour drive (bus, taxi, train) and has the same features as Ephesus, but admittedly different events took place there.  But I knew that my interest in the site would be in finding ancient coins, checking out the WC, and wondering if it was time for lunch.  So I “let” him go with a semi-colleague.  They had a great day.  That YA even brought cocoa and sandwiches.  But I fared just fine “Home Alone”.   So, I guess in the future I’ll refer to myself as NSASV or “not-strong ancient site visitor”.  That suits me just fine.  I’d rather be that, than the lovely wife….. even though I am quite lovely!

I only counted 9 cats on the way to church this morning.  But I did see a bird eating the cat food.  Does that count?

We are headed toward warm weather.  It is supposed to be in the 60’s this week.  WE’ll go to Istanbul near the end of the week for Zone Conference.  Another GA will be visiting.  He is the Area President for this Area and lives in Russia.  He visited us a couple of times in Jerusalem and we took his wife and him to Galilee.  At the time he was on dialysis, so our Center doctor arranged for him to have his dialysis in Jerusalem.  Interestingly he’d had two failed kidney transplants.  But later he had a 3^rd transplant, and is evidently doing well.  When he was in SLC his dialysis machine was in his own home.

We had a rather nice dinner today.  I made Hawaiian haystacks without most of the usual stuff.  We had five guests, 2 YA’s, 2 YV's, and a woman from Mongolia.  I made two batches of rice.  The first was too gooey.  I guess the rice here doesn’t need as much cooking time.  The 2^nd batch was better, but still pretty sticky.  I’ll get it right eventually!  I bought a pineapple that tasted like cardboard, but we still used it.  I bought one radish…. As big as a turnip… Maybe it was a turnip? But it was red.  I bought some eggs to hard boil… I can still boil an egg.  And I bought two chicken breasts that were huge.  I made gravy with boullion  (No cream of chicken soup here).    I found some white stringy cheese.  (there is no such thing as cheddar cheese here)  And I bought a bag of frozen peas.  The package said to boil for 20 minutes.  I thought that was excessive, so I microwaved it for about 3 minutes and it was fine.   I used some chopped tomatoes. I forgot that I’d bought a pepper that is still in the refrigerator.  And I also forgot to use the mushrooms I’d purchased.  One of the YV's hates tomatoes, so I told him he didn’t have to stack them on his rice.  (I’m still rather kind).  I’d make a grandchild eat their tomatoes. 

I think the meal went well.  We try to have a Sunday meal a couple of times a month with the members who are single.  It is a challenge because I don’t know what to prepare.  I’m good at spaghetti and chile, but that can’t be my only dishes.  Beef here is very expensive, so I’d never buy a roast even if I could find one.  AND I made peanut butter cookies again with the peanut butter sent to us from the US.  I don’t know why they don’t have peanut butter here.  There are lots of peanuts around.

We had fewer visitors this week because one of  the YV's was ill.  He did come one day wearing a surgical mask.  I asked him what he’d do if he were home.  He said his dad would recommend sweating out the illness with a sauna.  I asked if that worked, he said it did at home.  I’d never heard of that cure.

So, dad told you he felt an earthquake this morning.  We were sitting adjacent to one another, and I felt nothing.  Am I numb?  I didn’t believe him, but I have an app that detects such things, and sure enough, there was an earthquake in Izmir at the time he felt it.  He can be my Geiger counter.  Hmmm… Maybe that could be a song…. “He is my gieger counter, and I’ll follow him”… or something like that.

Well, this certainly has been a great thought-provoking email. 

I hope you are all well.  Sorry about Josh’s challenges, Cass’s illness.  Happy about Marinn’s Drill Team.  I love hearing from ALL of you.

Love,

Mother

#48 "Pergamum" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

You may or may not have heard of Pergamum (or Pergamon, or Pergamos as it is spelled in Revelation 2:12). It lies about a hundred miles north of our town. I have intended to visit the ruins of the ancient site for several months. Finally an opportunity arose with a young fellow who is thinking about working as a guide. So we went with him. I was curious not only about the ancient place but also about how we would get there (by Metro, bus, and taxi, as it turns out). The ruins on a high hill are a visual reminder of the rock and hard place that Christians faced in the demand that they sacrifice to the Roman Emperor of the day. In fact, in Rev. 2:13 names one Christian who had paid with his life for his faithfulness. The visit was good, and I especially liked the company of the young fellow. But I couldn’t feel really happy about a place which forced fellow believers to have to choose whether to live or die because of their faith.

The past week also saw me make another trip to the ancient site of Ephesus. (You are going to think that my experience here just consists of traveling to archaeological places.) This time I went with a couple of YSAs and our YVs who had never gone to this kind of spot. We found our way by train and local taxi. We took our time going through the site, which I liked a lot. We all had audio guides, but I talked about the scene in Acts 19 with the Apostle Paul and the illegal gathering at the theater. And I talked about other things too. Grandma did not go. As you probably know, she is not a strong ancient site visitor. She just held the apartment together in my absence. One of the points of that visit was that the YSAs are the ones who will be staying in Turkey and they need the association with someone who loves the Gospel and the stories in the New Testament. Through my eyes, I hope, they can see more clearly why these accounts are important for our self-understanding as Latter-day Saints.

This morning I was sitting at our living room table and my chair began to sway. Grandma was also sitting at the table, but was not moving in the least. After a couple of seconds, I said to her that we were in an earthquake. Well, she didn't believe it because she didn't feel it. So she started searching on her iPhone and pretty soon discovered that we had been hit with a minor tremor this morning about 8:15 local time. I saw no damage to anything as I walked to church meetings later in the morning. But I can say that I have never felt a chair move like I did while sitting in our living room. And I don't know that I am looking forward to the next time. We are residing in an area that has been prone to big tremors in past centuries. I just hope that the next big one is a couple hundred years away.

In our Sacrament Meeting today, we were eighteen, half in the room and half joining us by Skype from a distance. Three individuals who have been with us rather regularly during the past month were unable to join us via Skype, one because of a broken phone, one because of work commitments, and one due to family obligations. But importantly, a small core of us are there each Sunday, offering the option to one and all to join us. I was impressed that a young fellow, an investigator in his late twenties, came to be with us for a second week in a row. The YVs have been meeting with him and, although he looked rather uninterested last week, he showed some genuine curiosity today in our meetings. I keep hoping and praying that we shall see one of these investigators plunge straight ahead into the waters of baptism.

Speaking of baptism, I went with the YVs this past week to the home of member parents whose two children are as yet unbaptized. The children want to be baptized. I am certain that the father wants what his children want. I was not sure about the mother. But during our visit, she opened up a bit and talked about the difference the reception of the Holy Ghost made in her life after she was baptized in her late twenties. She talked about feeling safe and sensing that it was almost as if an angel from that moment on became a companion. It was a lovely testimony. I hope that she now acts on what she knows to be true as her children approach baptism.

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown

#47 "Vitamin C" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

You all know what vitamin C pills are. They are those rather large pills that you take when you are getting a cold, or you need some kind of support when facing immune system deficiencies. They are a safe addition to our diets. Ok. A couple of weeks ago, I started feeling the onset of a cold. So I went looking for vitamin C pills at a local pharmacy. The pharmacist, who spoke minimal English, after I thrashed around with my limited Turkish, finally understood my need and produced an orange tube that contained 20 tablets and promptly charged me 10 Lira. What? Three dollars for 20 tablets? Yes. I left with the orange tube in my hand vowing to find a cheaper source for vitamin C.

After I got back to the apartment, I thought to myself that I should be able to pop a tablet into my mouth and chew it. After all, I had done that with edible pills in the States, including a batch of vitamin C pills. I didn’t read the label because, it seemed obvious to me, it was written in Turkish and I would spend a long time trying to figure out what was on the label, with a dictionary in hand. If I had troubled myself, I would have found the short expression "20 efervesan tablet." Those words would have told me what was coming next. I took off the lid and out rolled an orangish pill about the width of a silver dollar. "Hmmm," I thought, "I am going to have to work to swallow that big pill." So I put it in my mouth and, before I could even think about getting some water, that pill turned into a virtual firecracker that used my tongue as a launch pad. It started foaming and detonating, hissing and sissing. And the taste was awful. It was all I could do to chew it and gag it down. Hoooee. You can imagine that I was not looking forward to the next pill. I must have taken a half dozen pills that way, with all those ‘splosions banging in my mouth, before Grandma said that I should probably be putting them in water and drinking the liquid. Well. Ok. But even that did not improve the taste much.

This week we were pleased to welcome into our midst a Turkish gentleman who had begun his career in this city but then, after a few years, went off to Switzerland to seek out a better life. He met an LDS woman whom he calls "my missionary." He joined the Church and they have raised their family in its embrace. His oldest grandchild was recently baptized. If he were here, he would probably be the branch president. As it is, he is one of the regular consultants on church publications in Turkish. He came to our services this morning and, at the end, said that he would return for vacation in August with his family. It was nice to meet a native of this area, along with two of our faithful, current branch presidents, who is a faithful church member. The YVs were hoping to get a specific investigator to Church to meet this man, but it didn’t work out.

In a related vein, we had three investigators at our services this morning. One is meeting with YVs in a distant city, and the other two are meeting with our YVs. I would say that the one who is currently living away from here has the best chance of joining the Church, judging from the expressions on their faces during our Sacrament meeting. One of the fellows whom our YVs are meeting with is a student from Afghanistan and is a professed athiest. We had a lesson with him in our apartment yesterday and it did not go wonderfully well. I even got into the mix trying to answer his questions, but my participation seems not to have made a big dent. But he came to our services. If he will pray, that will make all the difference.

We totaled fourteen for our Sacrament meeting today. Of the usual eight who join us from Bodrum by Skype, only three were with us. Another sister from north of us was able to keep on the line with her smart phone for most of our service. Ten of us sat in the room, including the three investigators. The YVs are pushing and working hard. I keep thinking that one of these people is going to be touched by the Spirit and make a beeline for the Church. It hasn’t happened yet. But I have faith that it will. I have told the YVs that eight convert baptisms by the end of the year would be a reachable goal. I may be a bit overly optimistic. But, as I pointed out to them, that is a substantially smaller number than Nephi and his brother Lehi baptized in and around Zarahemla when it was under Lamanite control — 8,000 (Hel. 5:19).

I have babied myself this past week, not going out except twice between visits to our branch meetings. I feel as strong as a washrag. The cold that has captured me has been the worst that I have experienced in a lot of years. I am retired, so I can baby myself. Even so, I have forgotten how to take care of a cold. As a result, I have made mistakes, like taking a Contac pill just before going to bed and not remembering that these little varmints squeeze all the juice out of you through the night. Up, down, up, down, up, down. And so forth. I had better be feeling better by tomorrow because I have agreed to accompany a few YSAs to Ephesus. And it will be chilly. We are going by bus to the big town nearby and then going by a smaller bus to the site. I look forward to being with them through what will be a new experience for most of them. Both the Apostles Paul and John, as you are aware, spent time in the ancient city. But no rain. Later this week, I am hiring one of the YSAs who is in tourism in his college curriculum to take me to Pergamum, a site that I visited 20 or so years ago with some fellow faculty members. That one will mean a lot of climbing because it sits perched on a very tall hill. Hey, this is the way to get well. Right?

I love you and pray for you.

Grandpa Brown

#46 "Twelve Cats" (By Grandma)

Each Sabbath morning we step out of our apartment and make the walking journey to the hotel where we hold church services.  Dad has been going earlier than I because he likes to be there earlier.  I know, I'm the punctual one, but he does like to see that everything is as it should be at the hotel.  I go a little later because I only have to take the music stuff, post the songs, and bring the food (refreshments).   Dad and the elders fuss with the technology to see that Skype will be possible.  

We have walked to church every Sabbath.  But last week a member, who has a car, picked me up in a rainstorm.  Dad had already gone on ahead.  But we walked back.

It has been rather cold here and today dad called and warned me that there was also a wind chill outside.  So I walked gingerely and brought a scarf in case I needed it. 

My walk to church was uneventful, and the wind had stopped blowing.  But I noticed the cats along the way.  Some of them were sunning themselves on top of cars, and some were in doorways.  As I mentioned before, I don't think cats have owners.  But people put out food for them.  I decided to count the cats as I passed them IN TURKISH.  Yes, I am learning the language!  I was able to count 12 of them.  And for your information, there was only one dog along the way.  Usually there are more.  So I practiced what I would say when I arrived at church.  I'd say "Today 12 cats" in Turkish.  I'm not sure if anyone else was impressed, but I was very impressed with my fluency.  "Cat" is one of the first words I learned in Turkish.  And now that I can almost count, I'm a real pro!

We hunkered in most of the week because it was cold.  But we ran low on food rations.  I miss my food storage.  I have some minimal stuff for storage, but nothing you'd want to eat.  We go to the green grocers several times a week unless we have gone to the big outdoor market.  But that market was too cold this week.  Eventually we had to venture out to get more stuff to eat.  I made chili this week and chicken soup.  I make big pots of both of them because we never know how many might just "happen" to be in our apartment at mealtime.   All of it has to be made completely from scratch.  

I tried making some cookies for the first time this week.  I made peanut butter cookies.  The recipe called for sugar, egg and peanut butter.   Thank you to whomever sent us peanut butter.  I'd never make it if I had to purchase it here.  A small jar costs about $20.00.  I don't know if our little toaster oven got it right or not, because the cookies had a strange consistency.  But they are edible..  I may look for another recipe.  I still have some peanut butter.

I'm sure you are interested in what a day looks like for us.  We have yogurt, pomengranate, and a granola for breakfast.  Dad always gets up earlier than I.  We then study Turkish for the morning.  I study from some Apps and Dad studies from notes from his class.  Dad hasn't been feeling well, so he hasn't been exercising, but I've gone out walking for 1-2 hours most afternoons.  For lunch we can purchase sandwiches from a bakery that are about $.60 a sandwich.  They are tomato, cheese, a bun, and a hot pepper.  We cast the hot pepper aside.

In the afternoons and the evenings we often have visitors which include the elders.  If they can make appointments they bring their investigators to our apartment.  They also set up skype lessons that they conduct from our apartment.  Dad and I join in with the discussions with the investigators, but not usually with the Skype.

My observations of the elders.  They really work hard.  They really have to know a lot.  This is a TOUGH mission.  They are asked hard questions by the investigators.  Most of them come from very diverse backgrounds.  We had a man from Afghanistan this week.  (He is an atheist)  The elders keep working and pushing ahead even with lots of turn-downs.  Dad contributes to some of the discussions when he is invited.  I don't feel like I have much to add to the discussions unless someone wants to know how many cats are outside.  

So we are safe, and warm this week, and doing okay.   I think we are sustained by your faith and prayers.  Thank you!

Love,

Mother

#45 "Seminar" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

The following is a little boring, even for me. So reader beware.

When I was on the BYU faculty (at this point, we hear a drum roll), I attended a lot of presentations by colleagues who had been working on one project or another. As you might guess, some were interesting, others were, well, you know, a bit boring. They were all important, however, because the individual, or team, had put a lot of energy and time into a research effort. I thought that I was basically finished with that sort of thing. Until. Until a fellow who owns a travel company, that caters to Christians who come to visit Turkey from abroad, invited Grandma and me to an afternoon seminar for tour guides. On the one hand, it sounds pretty awful. On the other, it turned out pretty well. I was interested to go. Oddly, the three presentations, two by Americans, were all on ancient Christian topics. Why is that unusual? Because the country is 99 percent Muslim. But the general populace was not invited, nor does it have any interest. But tour guides are dealing with Christian travelers all the time. And they have to be aware.

One of the presentations focused on a very prominent family whose members had a big influence on the Council of Nicea where the Nicene Creed was formulated. Another had to do with the town that almost became the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, a place called Nicomedia. Instead, the Emperor Constantine chose to build his capital on a site that, in time, became Constantinope and later Istanbul. The best of the presentations had to do with a term that the Apostles Paul and John apply to the Savior, a term that is usually translated "propitiation" or "expiation" and refers to Jesus’ Atonement. It turns out that a few recently discovered inscriptions in this part of the world from Roman times apply this term to the Roman Emperor Augustus (27 BC – AD 14). This meant that early Christian preachers, in talking about Jesus, were running into people who genuinely thought that the Christians were trying to undermine the Roman Empire. This was a serious charge, as you might imagine. For me, the presentation was a small window into the huge challenges faced by Christian missionaries trying to bring people to the Lord. It is not unlike the challenges today where the YVs face daily those who tell them that they have been smoking something when they describe Jesus.

Today in church services, we enjoyed a very good program. The main speaker was my first counselor who talked of being helped by the Spirit of the Lord last week through a terrible tangle of things connected to his work. Because of the spiritual help, he now expects to finish a project that he had essentially given up on. If he had walked away from that job, as he intended, he would have been finished in Turkey. As it is, he is still standing and believes he will finish the task on Tuesday. It was a moving story.

Twenty is the number who joined us this morning, nine in the room where we meet and eleven by Skype or smart phone. One of those with us in the room is from a distant branch. He holds a call to serve a mission in Europe. In fact, he is the second missionary to be called to that mission during the past few months. The two of them will be a wonderful addition to a missionary force that is constantly running into Turkish people who live and work abroad. One investigator joined us through his smart phone which means that he heard the service but did not see it. The same for a church member. Others had access to computers and could join by Skype. For the moment I am satisfied with including some who have opportunity only to hear whereas a few weeks ago there was absolutely no contact with them on Sundays.

The heavens have opened and rain has been constant for almost 24 hours. I was planning to go to Ephesus tomorrow with three young men, but we have postponed for a week because the rain will be as bad tomorrow. And the wind has been brisk, although it has calmed this evening. To enjoy it all, I have a touch of sickness, the first time in several years. So I shall probably hang around the apartment tomorrow and not go anywhere that I have to make a serious effort to move. We have a bunch of antibiotics, but I don't know whether to dip into them. Your mother will have a good sense about my stricken condition. The good news is that I am still breathing. I hope that you are too.

I love you and pray for you.

Grandpa Brown

#44 "Note to Self" (By Grandma)

I love our grandchildren.  There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for them.  So this is no way a criticism of them, just an observation.  Early on I decided that grandchildren and my personal PC didn’t match.  I am pretty computer saavy, but sometimes their usage went beyond my knowledge.  I have a friend who was at a total loss after grandchildren used her computer.  So, we parted ways.  They could use their own electronic devices when they visited.  I actually didn’t mind when they used FB and forgot to logout because then I could type in such messages as “my grandmother is great” or “I love coming to grandmother’s house”, etc.  Of course their friends would respond “You’ve been hacked”.  They knew that a grandchild would never say that. 

Where am I going with this?  Elders are like grandchildren.  But the difference here, is that when they mess with your computer or cell phone, they change it to Turkish.  And when we start typing letters, all we get are the Turkish symbols.  This AM an Elder borrowed Dad’s cell phone because he forgot his.  Evidently he called some Turkish investigators on it.  When we returned home, Dad tried to text to someone, and found only Turkish symbols.  We tried the “normal” stuff like looking at settings, but couldn’t resolve the problem.  So we texted the elders on my phone to find out how to undo their doings.  They called and told him to click here and there and try this and that.  None of that worked.  He at last punched a button that seemed to make things work, so they hung up.  Then Dad proceeded to respond to a text, and found Turkish squibbles again.  I again texted the elders.  After another conversation and a few more clicks, they were able to change his device to English.  Whew!

So, if someone wants to use your cellphone, politely decline and refer them to the nearest pay phone.  Oh wait, there aren’t pay phones anymore.  Just politely tell them you forgot your cellphone also.  It would solve a lot of angst for elderly people.  Elderly people do forget lots of things.

Cell phones are like tooth brushes.  You don’t need to loan them out.

Other than that, our week has been okay.  It is now a bleak, rainy afternoon.  I guess I shouldn’t complain because I am inside, and most of the week was sunny.  The country does need water.  And our heat does work some of the time. 

We have both been working pretty steadily at our Turkish.  I now know two words.  So I’m making progress. 

We took one of the YA Branch members to dinner last night for her birthday.  She politely said she didn’t celebrate birthdays, but we wanted to celebrate.  I gave her one of Heather’s romance novels.  She is actually an English Language 4^th year college student, so her English is great.  We went to our favorite restaurant that serves Turkish food.  My, isn’t that profound?  Why would a Turkish restaurant serve Turkish food.  We like this restaurant because they have several appetizers that come with the meal, so we don’t have to choose so many things.  It also includes dessert.  I had a lamb dish,  Dad had a kabab item, and our guests both chose a pizza-like thing.  We walked to the restaurant in a rain storm.  But when it rains here, it isn’t that cold.

We also had the chance to have dinner with a Sr Couple that is leaving this month.  They are stationed in Istanbul, but wanted to come to Izmir to say goodbye to those they know here.  They will return to St George.  We joined them and another Branch member for dinner.  We ate in one restaurant and went to another for dessert.  There are some very nice, rich desserts here. 

Food is actually quite inexpensive here.  We live in an area with upper-scale cafes, but even they aren’t as expensive as eating in the US.  Chicken is inexpensive, but beef dishes are quite expensive.   A lot of the meats are combined on a big skewer, but usually include chicken and lamb.  There are lots of American fastfood places.  They are a bit cheaper than the US.

Dad and I often eat a Turkish sandwich for lunch.  We buy it from a street vendor.  It costs 2L each, which is about $.60.  It consists of a torpedo-like bun, 4 big slices of tomato, a big hunk of cheese, and a long hot green pepper.  We always chuck the green pepper.   As long as we eat local cuisine we save money.  A large loaf of bread is 1L…. or about $.30.  Dad and I can consume one loaf at a meal.  So good.

Dad is struggling a bit now with a cold.  The Elders have been a bit ill, and they are here often.  So we may both be at risk.   I’ll have to go out tomorrow and see if I can find some ginger for him.  I see ginger root displayed prominently in most markets.  Perhaps it is a local treat.  I sometimes have to search for it in Orem. 

Every Sunday is a different event.  Today we had 9 in the room for Sacrament Meeting and 3 skype families.  WE never know exactly who will come, and when.  I think we have about 11 that could be considered almost full-time members in this area.  But only six of us are 100%’s so far.  And we have a vastly scattered populace of many miles that are officially in our Branch.

A speaker at BYU Hawaii gave a devotional this week.  He told about this mission in great detail.  Evidently he and his wife served here recently.  His last name is Bauer.  If you’d like more details about this area you can listen to his devotional.  It is posted. 

I hear our washing machine is kaput.  I’m sure Shoshauna will be knocking on your doors for assistance.  I’m guessing all of you have already made a trip to her door and offered to take her washing items to your homes for cleaning.

As you know I’m the financial guru in the family.  I read something in the news recently that said “get out of the market”.  It turns out that person was correct.  The market has been falling.  My, my, what shall we do?  I’m too old to care anymore.  I know you will all provide adequate support for us if our holdings all disappear.   We’ve been eyeing the playhouse in Arizona, the furnace room in Lehi, and the room under the stairs in Vernal for possible residences.

Love you!

Mom

#43 "Solving Problems" (By Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

The following is brought to you by the "how to get help" section of your local app store, or some such agency. First, you decide that the trouble in the house (like a broken heating unit, for instance) has to start not only on a weekend, but on the one weekend during the entire year that absolutely no one is working, or stirring, not even an out-of-work mouse. Second, you also plan the problem for the coldest weather so far during the winter. Third, after that weekend, you set aside a full three days to try to get some help fixing the problem in your home (or your business, or whatever). Fourth, you carry your mobile phone everywhere you go for that three days in the expectation that someone will call you with the promise of help. Fifth, you arrange to welcome two technicians into your home, one on the first day of the waiting and the other on the second day. Each in his turn tells you that he cannot fix the problem. (It’s beginning to sound a little like the story of Billy Goat Gruff — just wait for my big brother to come.) Sixth, you make certain that, in this scenario, you are dependent on a landlord whom you have never met. Seventh, you fix things so that you are dealing with an agent who is calling the landlord on your behalf, but you don’t know how persistently. You hope for the best. Eighth, you wait and wait — patiently, of course — for the agent to call you for the full three days. Other than your whining calls to him, he calls you exactly twice. Well, a third time on the third evening at 9:00 PM, promising help the next morning, the fourth morning by our count, "before noon." Ninth, when the two technicians arrive to replace a malfunctioning water pump, they bring a used pump that, you assume, has been reconditioned. Tenth, after installing and testing the system, they pronounce everything "Tamam" (fine) and leave you with a system that will stop working five hours later. Eleventh (Whew! The last one.), now you have to figure out how to restart the system and make it work. That, my friend, is one recipe for getting spirited help to solve a major problem. Aren’t you glad you asked if we are warm yet?

Our Sacrament meeting today brought in only one person by Skype. Others who have joined us in the recent past were otherwise engaged or their wifi systems were not adequate today to make the connection work. But even that news is good. The one who joined us is an investigator from a distant city. The big news for us is that we welcomed thirteen people to our meeting, five of whom are non-members. One of the non-members is the father of three children who are members. His presence, having come to visit his children, was worth a lot. It was his first time to attend a branch meeting here. I was thrilled to welcome him. And I want to give credit where credit is due. The presence of three of those non-members, and a woman who is becoming active, all result from the YVs’ recent activities. They have been terrific. Their best day, as I measure such things from inside our apartment, occurred this past week when they held four meetings here — two via Skype and two with investigators sitting in our living room. Naturally, because they were here during the afternoon and evening, Grandma offered them dinner.

I have decided that the national pastime here is jaywalking. At least in the cities. Well, the two cities that I have visited or lived in regularly. People just pop off the curb at any point and cross the street. Never mind that a traffic light is just 50 feet away. Never mind that many of these people are dragging children with them. They seem to be teaching the children the refined art of dodging cars and trucks. Never mind that drivers here, when they see a little open road, even a hundred feet, tromp on the gas pedal and barrel along the road. More than once I have stepped off a curb on a city street, with what I think is a big, open space in the traffic, only to see that space close in a hurry with a car careening toward me at 50 miles per hour. So I have adopted a more cautious approach, deciding that I would like to survive our experience here. Now I only cross the street in the middle of a block when it seems suitable, not when it seems inviting.

I love you and pray for each of you.

Grandpa Brown

#42 "Wearing huntin' socks" (By Grandma)

Warm up gear while the heat was out.

Dad just had me read his write-up about our heating situation.  He is actually a very funny writer.  Who would have thought?  You'll all be interested to know that he actually comes out with some very funny things.  So your humor DNA didn't all come from the Oblad/Pugsley side.  It looks like there is a little bit of humor from the Brown/Soffe side.  

It is interesting that misfortune can actually have a humorous twist to it.... after the fact.  It is not funny when you are freezing cold.  We weren't exactly freezing, but it was below 68 degrees all of the time.  I wore the wonderful socks that Shoshauna and Joel sent me for several days.  You aren't ever supposed to wash them are you?  I know they are huntin' socks, but they work on cold marble floors.

Today we met in a different room for church in the hotel.  That isn't particularly newsworthy, but this is a slow news day.  We had a good group, but only one Skype person.  Part of the challenge of being here, is you never know if something will work out until afterwards.  Dad conducted and he was the speaker.  After his talk we projected President Monson's Conference talk in Turkish.  I had printed a copy for several of us in English so we could follow along.  But nine people in the room understood Turkish.  We had five non-members in the room and one on Skype.  After Sacrament Meeting the JV's teach a Gospel Essential's lesson in Turkish.  I provide refreshments in between.  They liked my rice krispy squares today.  I made them with cocoa puffs.  I thought they were nasty, but i'm glad they liked them.  You can't buy Rice Krispies here.  

Luckily dad and I have some technological knowledge.  That combined with the JV's makes our meetings possible.  We have to use five devices for each meeting and they all belong to us.  Good thing we brought them.  I don't know if the Branch will ever had its own equipment.  It would have to have a building to store it in.  Dad and I take our stuff each Sunday to the meetings.  Our arms have both lengthened a couple of inches since we arrived.  

We also put pressure on our arms carrying groceries to our apartment.  Turkey has great produce, so we carry lots of that kind of stuff.  Yesterday we went to an outdoor market and bought cabbage, pomengranate, mandarins, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower and spinach.  We rode public transportation 4 times and walked major distances.... and it was freezing...  Well, it was probably in the 60's.

I sent a photo of stuff I've crocheted.  Lately I've been making scarfs.  I really like mine.  It is multi-color blues.   I asked Dad what color he wanted, and he wanted black.  Black is ugly and hard to work on.  But I made a black one for him because I'm such a dutiful wife.  Please ask him to show his scarf to you.  

Thank you for your emails.  It is great to hear from you.  I think it would be nice for you to copy one-another with your family emails.  You all live such diverse and interesting lives.  I check my i-phone a zillion times a day to see if anyone has sent me a message.  

Well, I love you all.  Take care!

Love,

Mother

#41 "Snow storm" (By Grandma)

I just read dad's email to you.  He has recounted our week very well, so I'll try not to repeat everything he said.  I told him that I want to write first next week, so my news can be fresh.

As you know we are sharing a computer.  It is like sharing a tooth brush.... very hard.  We are both used to our personal space which includes a personal computer.  We have smaller devices, but only a Laptop or PC works for some things.  Since the laptop belongs to Dad, I have to queue up to use it.  He isn't possessive, he just uses it a lot for his stuff.  My stuff gets put aside, or limited to what I can etch out on my I-Pad.  Therefore he usually writes his letters before I do.  

He wrote about our week in Istanbul.  But I don't think he made it clear that some parts of the trip were very miserable because they had their first snowstorm of the year.  So, it is like flying from So California to Utah during the winter.  We weren't prepared.  We left Izmir in sweaters, and found blizzardy conditions in Istanbul.  And we had to walk substantial distances once we got off the metros to reach our destinations.... with a biting wind.  Do you feel sorry for us yet?

The first destination was a dinner with Elder and Sister Oaks at the Mission Home.  We arrived wind-blown, and wet, looking like trappers from the north.  We dragged our suitcases along uneven sidewalks to reach the Mission Home.   The dinner was great.  It was fun to sit in close conversation with the group.  The Oaks had just arrived from Rome.  Sister Oaks asked if Heather was our daughter and said she admired her very much.  (I'm sure she would admire all of our children if she only knew them also!)

After the dinner we stepped out into the blizzardlyl conditions, dragging our suitcases and walked to an apartment that was about a mile away for the evening.

The next morning we, again walked in blizzards, to the metro and to Zone Conference.  The Oaks spoke to us there.  It was a good meeting.

That evening there was an Istanbul fireside for members in the area.  It was attend by about 25% non-members.  It was a pretty snowy evening, so it was great that many came out. 

BTW  We didn't have boots.  I didn't see anyone without boots.  We don't even own boots.  We don't need them in IZmir.  So our footwear was very inadequate.  Luckily I packed my parka in my suitcase, just in case.  So I wore that.  

The next day we had no plans.  We thought we'd just study Turkish in the apartment until it was time to start the journey to to the airport.  But the MP called us and asked if we'd like to go to the Grand Bazaar with them and the Oaks.  He asked if we could be ready in five minutes.  I was in my PJ's, dad was out scouting for water bottles.  I said "sure".  I quickly changed, did a few dishes, threw everything into my suitcase, ran a brush over my hair, and informed dad when he arrived that he had to be ready in 2 minutes.  The MP said they'd meet us at the top of the hill in a van.  We slipped and slid climbing the hill to the van..... dragging our suitcases.

The Grand Bazaar was very fun.  The women shopped mainly at a pottery shop while the men wandered through the vast alleys.  Another senior couple had joined us, and they knew the territory very well.  The men didn't have any desire to shop.  I wasn't really looking for anything, so I mainly observed.  After about 2 hours we met up and a shop keeper led us to a restaurant in the bazaar and we had a very nice lunch.   This Bazaar is probably one of the biggest in the world.  It is entirely covered, so it was a good place to be on a snowy day.

It became time for us to depart to the airport, so the MP let us to the van and they took us to a Metro stop so we could get to the airport.  And dad related the airport saga.  

You might wonder why we don't get picked up when we arrive at Istanbul, or why we don't take taxis.  We don't because traffic is horrible, and trips can be much longer above ground.  The metro isn't too bad unless you have to stand the whole way.  We have to ride on three different lines when we go to Zone Conferences.  It takes about 1 1/2 hours on the metro.  It is often 2-3 hours via taxi.  

We arrived home about 9:30 on New Year's Eve.  We didn't celebrate.  We went to bed and our heat was still working.  

I'm enclosing a photo of us today..... freezing....

Love,

Mother

#40 "A Fun Week" (Grandpa)

Dear Grandchildren,

    Our apartment heater finally conked out. The one that showed so much promise as heat radiating upward through the marble tiles of the floor. The one that left me looking forward to the cold weather. The one that has been bonking and snorting for the past couple of weeks. I was going to ask a technician to come to the apartment to fix it last Tuesday. Then I got a text from the MP asking us to move our departure to Istanbul to an earlier hour. So I dropped the idea of inviting a repair man. Never mind that the forecasters were putting the winter’s coldest temperatures into their prognostications. We turned down the heater and headed for Istanbul which was going to get its own dose of winter weather. When we returned, naturally, we turned on the heat. It never did catch up to the cold that had settled into the apartment. And the heater acted as if it didn’t want to work. Early last evening, after being on for almost forty-eight hours, it hit its own wall. Just before that moment, the doorman stopped for his payment and said something about the noise. So I showed him. I suppose that he will contact someone to come to fix things. I say "suppose" because he was talking in Turkish and I was not staying with him in the least. The only term that I was able to insert into the conversation was the Turkish word for Monday.Tomorrow morning will be our first chance to get to someone after the very long holiday weekend. Long indeed.

    Ah yes, Istanbul. It is as though we have taken up an unofficial residence in the city, though we land in a different place each time. Elder and Sister Oaks had come to town and the MP had called a zone conference. Naturally, we went when invited. And, incidentally, we were happy to go. For a long time, he has been one of the very impressive people who are leading the Church. One of his points in the zone meeting was that it is important to do the Lord’s work in His way and according to His timetable. The prior evening he had talked about the way that members of the Church in Asia had successfully moved the Church forward without the aid of formally called YVs and SVs. That was a prelude to him saying that we need to work in the Lord’s way, not our own, because He may have different ideas about how to proceed and succeed. Wednesday evening, he spoke mostly to investigators in the congregation by saying that they could know that the Gospel is true by the simple acts of reading scripture, attending church meetings, and praying. The best part of the experience for me was getting a big hug from him just as we were heading to the Metro to travel to the airport.

    Now the airport. Last Thursday was a big snow day in Istanbul. Scores of flights in and out of the two airports had been cancelled. And it was New Year’s Eve, the biggest celebration day of the year. So travelers clogged the airport, all hoping for a way to reach destinations that had been planned weeks and months in advance. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:00 p.m. We were allowed to pickup our flight coupons and go to the gate. Then the waiting drama began. Before our gate was changed, the flight scheduled to depart at the gate next to ours was postponed for four and a half hours. When the agent announced this bit of news, the place erupted into a mass of shouting and fist-waving. When our gate was changed, I began to wonder whether we were being sent all over the airport to soften us up. The minutes ticked by. The first announced ten-minute delay stretched into an hour. Then two hours. We were finally allowed to board just before 8:00 p.m. When we reached the little approach to the airstrip where we would take off, the plane sat for a long time, then began to roll back to the terminal. I thought blackly, "We are staying in Istanbul tonight." Instead, we went to a place where the de-icing machine could work on our plane. (I had wondered before about the lack of de-icing because I could see snow sticking on the windows.) When we finally rolled down the runway, after not hearing a flight leave for at least an hour, I was relieved. After we were above the snow, we enjoyed a smooth flight back.

        Today was Fast and Testimony Meeting, a fact that most of you well know. But ours was very different. We conducted ours in large measure by Skype. For most of our meeting, nine of us sat in the hotel room that we rent. We were joined by two investigators just at the end who stayed with us through our Sunday School lesson taught by the YVs. The unusual element in our meeting was the presence of three Skyped-in contacts. Two of those were from smart phones belonging to an individual. They were joining us for the first time. The other contact brought in ten persons, all in one city. That group included two fathers who are non-members joining their families.

 We heard testimonies from most in our hotel gathering and then from three of those who had joined us by Skype, including an investigator. The YVs were amazing. Using our laptop, Grandma’s iPad, and my iPhone, they connected both video and audio to all three contact destinations. We could all hear one another. Most importantly, all could hear the blessings on the Sacrament, something that I have wanted for our branch members for a lot of months. How did I feel? Happy, happy. Better far than a Happy New Year. This was real, deep happiness.

I love you and pray for you.

Grandpa Brown

PS.  It seems that Grandma has found a new favorite place to shop. It is a good deal south of town, near the airport. We catch a bus, then a Metro, then we ride a long way and get off. Less than a hundred yards from the Metro exit is a big produce market every Saturday. We have now gone twice to refurbish our stores. We buy as much as Grandma and I can carry. Then we catch the Metro and a bus. If we are quick enough, and if our connections are good enough, we can reach our neighborhood all on the same bus charge. But we have to be on the last bus before the 90 minute allowance has expired. We almost did it yesterday. But not quite. Our arms are a little longer, as you might suppose. But, hey! We have some of the best vegetables, and for a small price. That is worth something. Still shopping for quality bargains.