Dear Grandchildren,
The capstone of our notable week came with the baptism of our former realtor who is currently between jobs. She is a dear and, at least twice, has had to postpone her baptism for one reason or another, the latest being her surgery on both knees almost two weeks ago. The day started with the YVs who taught her coming by 9:00 this morning to correct the nice program that they had been working on over a couple of weeks. It was one of the hymns that they wanted to redo. At that early hour on a Sunday, it was almost like a home invasion. Well, not really. But. But they then came for an hour and a half after our church meetings to take care of some things on the branch’s laptop. The baptism? It went fine. The other pair of YVs will show up this evening for a trilogy of Skype lessons. Few breaks in the action in our apartment, it seems.
Tomorrow is my next appointment for a voice treatment. Wish me luck. I shall need it, I am sure. Gulp. Groan.
During the past week, all the mission presidents and spouses from the Europe East Area met in our fair city with the area presidency for their annual seminar. Tuesday evening, I spoke to them about the three early apostles who traveled and lived in ancient Turkey — Peter, John, and Paul. Grandma and I were invited to dine with them before my presentation. We sat at the table with Elder N, the executive director of the missionary department. He was interested in the ideas of the MPs seated at our table about possible improvements in how we do missionary work in our area, effectively turning the meal into a working dinner. It was interesting to hear the comments. One sister was very adamant about the women YVs keeping themselves looking nice at all times. A fine idea as long as the care in putting on makeup does not become excessive and thus come to interfere with their more important tasks. Later, in my speech, I put only one person to sleep. Something of a record.
The next day we went to Ephesus with this crowd of impressive people. Our female guide was exceptional. She gave us more information than any of the three guides with whom I have gone in recent months, including the audio guide that a person can rent to walk through the site. The few times that I jumped in to add something, I think that I was able to supplement what she was saying so that people felt more of an informational tie to the New Testament. You have to be able to add these things in important settings, like Ephesus, when you are getting a big salary as we are.
On Friday, we flew to Istanbul, a trip that we shall take only twice more. Sadly, I am sensing the approach of the end of our assignment. We went to a zone conference that was held on Saturday with the executive director of the missionary department who had been in the seminar with the MPs of the area. Before we ended our Friday activities, which ended with Elder N’s fireside in the Istanbul branch, we went to visit the Chora Church and the Hagia Sophia, both important Christian landmarks in the city that were turned into mosques. Our MP had arranged for a guide, who was good and very personable. But because I had read a little about the Chora Church, I found that I knew more of the story captured in the frescoes and mosaics of the church. But he knew the stories that the images were telling about young Mary and the young Jesus. The only time we visited that little church was on our first day in the country and we were struggling just to put one foot in front of the other. And I did not then know the stories told by the images. The visit was much more interesting this time, I am happy to say.
It seems as though we are ready to search for more permanent digs. Our numbers regularly exceed 15 for Sacrament meetings in our hotel room, the baseline number. A new place to meet, that we can call our own, will have to be a genuine upgrade. Currently, the hotel offers us space, audio-visual assistance, carafes of water, and a clean room with a coat closet, for less than $500 per month. Brother Fitzgerald will probably recommend that we not change places, at least not for the present. The only drawback is that we have to pack items back and forth each Sunday, such as sacrament trays and the electronic devices to run our Skype outreach. The hotel is also in an easy-to-reach location. Hence, if we begin a search for space, we shall probably look in the neighborhood for a suitable place. If we locate in a business building, access to our rented space during evenings and weekends will be a matter that we have to solve. But I look forward to solving such issues. Maybe more later; maybe not.
Our number was 32 for Sacrament Meeting today, 20 in the hotel room and a dozen joining by Skype. Of that number, four were visitors from out of town, three were investigators, and one was to be baptized. She is the person whom we met while searching for a YV apartment. The talks in Sacrament Meeting each dealt with challenges that we face in life. In the baptismal service, I was asked to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. (It was notably shorter than the talk on baptism.) I also confirmed her a member of the Church while one of our YVs sat in front of her and translated what I was saying into Turkish. She understood everything that I said to her. Everything. Now we need to find a husband for her, one with whom she can spend eternity.
I love you and pray for each of you.
Grandpa Brown
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