May 3, 2015

We ordered a vegetable plate one day and expected the Hungarian staple -- broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.  This came and was delicious; those are grilled cucumbers!

Boldog Magyar Anyák Napja (Happy Hungarian Mother’s Day). 

This week turned a bit cold and rainy.  In fact one day was a real downpour, accompanied by wind -- much wind.  Could it be that Mother Nature uses wind as her pruning method?  The streets and sidewalks were littered with small, dead twigs and branches the next morning. 

Two times we went with missionaries to falvak (villages) away from Kaposvár to visit members.   Tractors were out on the country roads.

The drive was beautiful – yellow rape seed (canola oil) fields are in bloom.   We commented to one member how beautiful they are and also that they smelled so nice.   We were told they smell good now, but when they are ripe and are being harvested, the smell is terrible.   Oh well, we won’t go near them.  Elder Martineau was so taken with the sight, he just wanted to be in the middle of the field.  

One member gave us wonderful smelling lilacs (orgonát).  

Near Kaposvár is the sign to this village – Juta, pronounced Utah.  Those who know about Utah tell us that we don’t have to go very far to get to Utah.  

The next section of the street near our home and in front of the hospital is under construction for new sidewalk and parking spaces -- hand-laid paving tiles.

We have been searching for metal frame beds for a couple of projects.  We found some at IKea and since they were welded, Elder Miller thought they would be sturdy enough.  We priced them and got them approved, and last week went to buy them – Ikea has discontinued them!   Back to square 1.   We finally found a couple of places, but were not sure about either one and decided we should look at them before we ordered to see if they would be sturdy enough for children's homes.   We had three other places we needed to pay for orders, so on Thursday we headed to Budapest just for the day hoping to get it all accomplished.

Our first stop was at Alex Butor, a places that manufacturers furniture for kindergartens, schools, and dorms.  We have used them several times and know the high quality of their furniture.  They are wonderful to work with (we just have to go there and pay in cash).   We knew the girl we usually speak English with was not going to be there, but we had ordered online and just needed to pay, so thought it would not be a problem to accomplish that task – in Hungarian.  We were asked several questions, which we couldn’t understand, so the girl went and got her boss (who spoke English very well).   We took care of our order and made the payment.   As we were walking in I noticed a sign on the stairs – Fém Butor (Metal Furniture).   So at that point I mentioned to him the sign and asked if they made metal frame beds.  He took us in his office and asked what we needed.  (We had previously looked in their catalog and only saw wood beds, much more expensive that we had budgeted.)  We explained our need, told him the reasons we needed metal, and showed him our budget for beds and mattresses.  He wrote down several figures and said, “Let me put together a proposal for you.”   (Since Friday was a holiday, we are hoping that proposal comes tomorrow.) 

We know Alex Butor; we trust Alex Butor!   We truly felt the Lord’s hand in this interaction.  If the girl who speaks English had been there, no one would have gone in to get the boss.  And we had a very nice visit with him explaining our purpose; and for him to offer the beds at the price we budgeted is truly a blessing. 

The next place we went had closed early for the holiday; but someone was there and opened for us.  The girl who knew about our order came running in for a quick minute (before going to a program at her child’s school) and took care of us.   Another tender mercy!

May 1^st was the Hungarian Labor Day.   The only thing noticeable was that banks and stores were closed and our town seemed deserted – except for the ice cream stores.   We had lunch with the elders after district meeting; they had popsicles, and then they enjoyed ice cream by the fountain.  

We were missing a good number of branch members today; perhaps because of the holiday.  However, we had several visitors:  7 non-members, a former missionary and his wife, the stake president who was here to call Brother and Sister Fekete from Pécs (larger town and branch 65 k southeast) to be members of the Kaposvár Branch and also called him to serve as the elder's quorum president.  We enjoyed the company of both President Southwick and Brother and Sister Fekete for lunch afterwards.  Sweet couple; he served as the first branch president here several years ago.  They have a daughter attending BYU-Hawaii.

We feel the Lord's hand daily.  This is His work.  We are grateful to be called of Him and to serve in His name.  Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ came to His very tired disciples and asked them, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour?"  Perhaps he was asking, "What, could you not serve with me one hour?"  We pray that we will always be ready, willing and awake to serve the 'hour' with our Savior.