THANKSGIVING WEEK

This past week was a very busy one but a very good one.  We went to Larnaca to pick up Elder & Sis Manning from the mission office.  Yes, we are still working on the finances but making progress.  We were lucky enough to see the flamingos. They winter here and there are literally thousands of them.  This picture is a little far away and hopefully another time I will get a better one.

We spent the week getting ready for District Conference.  Lots of meetings and preparation.  The conference was great and were all left inspired and motivated.  We had our area authority come, Elder Christopher Charles and his wife.  They are from England but he is Greek by birth and she is Muslim by birth.  They have an amazing conversion story.

On Friday, we had a Thanksgiving dinner for our missionaries.  They are all from the UK but had heard about American Thanksgiving dinners and wanted one - so why not??  Finding a turkey over here is not easy, especially at the last minute.  Next time we will order in advance.  It was fun nevertheless and they loved it.  My favorite part was when we went around the table and each said what were were grateful for - we all really focused on the important things and especially our Savior and His love for us.   

(notice Bill's beverage of choice? Yes, the habit continues)

Our two wonderful sisters:  Sister Hall and Sister Hubey

Elder Deighton

We love these young missionaries and the work they are doing.  Elder Deighton and Sis Hubey came out just 3 weeks before us so we are all still the greenies in the mission.

This is a statue of Markious - ruler here in Cyprus during the mid 1900's.  He was the political and spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church and Cyprus.  This statue is in the old city where we love to go and explore.  He was a Greek Cypriat and both loved and disliked by many.

We are waiting to go to another planning meeting.  This next week promises it be another busy one which we like.  Downtimes are hard - we like being busy and tired.  At our conference today we had quite a few investigators which was very encouraging.  WE also had a pot luck afterwards and fed close to 75 people.  All the members bring something and they really put on quite a spread.  I took spicy meatballs that you cook in the crockpot and they have become quite the hit with the missionaries along with Marilyn Roberts' banana cake.  Thanks Marilyn!  We have such a diverse branch membership that you really get a little bit of everything.

The Christmas spirit has started here.  It seems a little surreal to me.  Hopefully we will be able to experience some wonderful traditions and happenings.  love to all.

Happenings

This past week we had some wonderful happenings.  The first was a baptism in the Mediterranean Sea.  The girl's name is Jane.  She is Phillipino and works as a domestic.  She was so sweet.  What an amazing setting.   The fellow on the far left below is a native Cypriat who was baptized with his wife a few months ago.  Truly amazing.  They give up so much when they join the church.  They are speaking in our upcoming conference. The fellow on the right is getting ready to go on a mission soon.

Here are some pictures of the old city.  It is surrounded by a rock wall.  It is divided in half by the 'green line' between the section ruled by Turkey and the Cyprus section.

Here you can see a mosque and one of the many old, narrow streets.

Here we had Greek pitas and were serenaded by this fellow.  They put french fries in the pitas and gyros.

Found this little (or not so little) guy on my morning walk. They are a popular item at the grocery store but pretty sure they won't come home in my basket!!

There is a nice nursery just a couple of blocks from our flat.  I pass it every morning on my walk.  I decided to buy this little geranium to brighten up our space and because it reminds me of my mom.  She loved and grew geraniums for many years.

We had a pot luck after church this past Sunday.  Since Sunday is the only day the majority of our members have off we wanted to have something where we could meet and mingle.  It was a huge success. We had 35 out to our meetings that day.  We are really trying to develop and unity among the members and hopefully we are headed in the right direction.  This branch is the closest thing to family that most of them have.

We have District Conference coming up - lots of meetings and things to do.  It will be wonderful to hear from our local leaders.  Bill and I both get to speak and will also be taking part in the auxiliary training sessions.

KOURION

Today we went on an outing with the missionaries in our zone to Kourion.  It is about 90 minutes from Nicosia and is the site of some ancient (100 AD) ruins.  The missionaries loved the break from their regular schedule and the weather and sites were beautiful.

This is an amphitheater that is actually still used at times.  It is one that when you stand in a certain spot at the bottom and just speak in a normal voice you can hear it everywhere in the theater.

These are views of the Mediterranean Sea - so incredibly beautiful.  The restaurant shown here is the same one we ate at when we came here two years ago with the Drakes.

Some of the remains of Apollo's temple.

The sisters.

The elders - enough said.

The remains of an alter.

This is called the sacred road leading to Apollo's temple.

Apollo & his wife at the end of the sacred road!?!?!

All in all it was a really good day.  We went back to Limassol and had lunch.  It is heartwarming to watch these missionaries interact with each other and to get to know them better.  They are so good!!!  We were tired but happy when we arrived back to our 'flat.'