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
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