Happy Easter, April 20, 2014

The Senior Missionary couples of the Hungary Budapest Mission gathered
at this week’s Senior Conference.   Does anybody look familiar?  

Another good and busy week.  Monday we went with our interpreter to check out breast pumps  -- yes, we do have interesting projects.  Tuesday morning we learned that if we submitted projects that day, they would review them the next day – about 3 weeks earlier than planned.  So we scrambled to get the needed information and submitted three projects.  All were approved!  That day we were also preparing for company that evening and some food assignments for the Senior Conference the next two days.  

It is always nice to gather with the other senior couples.  We and another sister are still the newest so we introduced ourselves.  We heard testimonies from two couples who will be the next ones leaving.  We also heard from others – the family history couple, a couple who are working well with the young missionaries, and the sister who serves as the mission nurse with useful advice about bedbugs!  Of course President Smith spoke to us and we then had a ‘break-out’ sessions separating elders and sisters –reviewing guidelines, apartment checks and other practical items, language tips and the sharing of ideas and of course, recipes.

After finishing with meetings the seniors took a little excursion to the Citadella on Gellért Hill overlooking Budapest, a most panoramic view of the night lights of the city.  It was on this hill in 1989 that Elder Russell M. Nelson dedicated Hungary for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

The Citadella, or fortress, was built in 1851 and at one time housed 60 cannons.  During the Austria-Hungary era it was occupied by Austrian troops.  In 1899 Budpest took it over.  During the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Soviet troops occupied the Citidella and tanks fired down into the city.

Atop Gellért Hill in a prominent view to all the city is the Liberty Statue  or Freedom Momument (commissioned by a leader in honor of his son who died in the war).  When the Russians arrived they replaced the propeller that she was to hold aloft with the palm frond to symbolize the country’s freedom from the Nazis.    It now commemorates those who sacrificed their lives for the independence, freedom and prosperity of Hungary. 

A Hungarian hero below the Liberty Statue, Elder Miller was trying to duplicate the pose, but it was very cold and windy!

The next day the seniors went together to Szentendre, a small picturesque town and artist community with colorful baroque houses and churches about a half hour away from Budapest. 

This is a shopper’s paradise with souvenirs galore.   Those who are leaving soon had a ‘hey day.’  

This man skillfully carved the design in the top of this little ‘magic box’ right before our eyes.

We went into this Christmas store – what a collection!  Does the ‘museum’ part bring back memories of childhood?

Actually, there was only one counter of ‘made in Hungary.’  The rest could have been at the Christmas store in Frankenmuth, Michigan – made in China!

One of 9 churches, this Greek-Orthodox Blagovestenska church, is best known and was built mid 18th century.

 Waiting for lunch in Szentendre.

We then visited a most fascinating little place, the Mikro Csodák Múzeuma (Micro Miracle Museum).  A Ukranian man has created these amazing microscopic figures – micro art.  They could only be seen through a microscope, so most of these images are from the pictures on the wall.

The finest (and tiniest) chess set the world over.  The chessboard and chessmen are placed on a pinhead!  They show an arrangement of chessmen from one of the games played by Alexander Aliokhin and Raul Capablanca.  The chessmen are made of gold. 

The smallest book in the world -- .6 mm.  It includes 12 pages of the poetry of Taras Shevchenko.  The pages are sewn together with thread from a spider web.  The cover is made of an immortal (?) petal. 

The portrait is a bas relief and is 3 x 3 mm and is cut out of a sloe (berry) pit. 

The map of Australia is carved in glass, which is inserted into a half of a poppy seed.  The kangaroo is made of gold.

This is a scene on half a poppy seed.

Another scene on half an apple seed.   There were also leaves on a human hair and a pyramid and 4 camels in the eye of a needle—all in gold, but the pictures didn’t turn out.

Friday we had another adventure.  When we priced camping equipment for a project at a Decathlon store, they didn’t have everything and said their larger store would carry it.  With the project approved we decided to start with the larger store.  It took us 1.5 hours to get there by bus (partly because we went the wrong way and ended up where we started.  We had to cross the street and take a different bus.)   In Hungary they don’t stock supplies (because people don’t buy quantities), so we needed to convince the salesman to order what we needed and when it is all here it can be delivered.   We must have been in the store for a couple of hours, but a nice young man who speaks very good English was helpful and hopefully they will call us when the supplies are in.   The next day we bought a stove – a most interesting and varied assignment we have –about to become more so.

This Easter evening we had dinner (traditional ham, potatoes, deviled eggs and braided bread) with several senior couples at President and Sister Smith’s home and enjoyed visiting afterwards. 

Actually Easter Monday is the holiday in Hungary.   That’s the day that businesses are closed.  An old country custom is for the young men to throw water on young girls.  Now cologne has mainly replaced the water.  The girls dress nicely for the occasion and take pride in attracting ‘waterers.’  Afterwards the young men are offered painted eggs, cookies, a drink and then he can go to the next girl.  Don’t know if we’ll witness this or not, but it is talked about.

  

We wish you all a Happy Easter.  We are so grateful to our Savior (beyond our capacity to understand) for His willingness to submit His will to the will of the Father, the gift of the Atonement and Resurrection to us -- so that we that we may all live again.  That is the message of this Easter Day --

 Tudjuk, hogy jó Megváltom él!  (We know that our Redeemer lives!)