Heder Mission Moments: Corinth and Nafphlio

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to try to capture some of the past week.. it involved a trip with the family to ancient Corinth, then a fortress on the mountain above it that has been captured and lost by several different nations over a thousand years. We hiked to the top. Unfortunately for me, Lee and I were trying to look like missionaries rather than tourists, so I was in dress pants, white shirt, tie and dress shoes. Climbing up steep stone roads and paths on rocks worn smooth by about ten thousand cart and chariot wheels and horse hooves proved a little tricky in loafers.

Then we continued the adventure in a coastal town not far from ancient
Sparta (a little farm town of no consequence now) where another fortress sits atop the mountain that overlooks the town on one side and the ocean on the other. Just as advertised, the heavily fortified switch-backs that climb the cliffside to the entrance include 1000 stone stair steps. Again, in dress pants, shirt, tie and dress shoes... I'm telling you, that's not the way it is supposed to be done! No matter how many gyros I eat over here, I'm sweating everything off.

The next few days include a visit from Elder Dyches of our Area Presidency, and a series of meetings, and then a quick flight up to Thessaloniki for interviews and training. Then back to Athens to send off an elder--and then out to Crete to visit some new members who have moved to the military base there. We hope to talk with them about how they can help with missionary work on the island, and administer the sacrament to them before coming back to Athens.

Earlier tonight we were joking about how Marie hadn't ever flown on an airplane before this mission experience, but now in the last three weeks she has 11 or 12 stamps in her passport. She's sick of flying. I'M sick of flying! I think I can do the whole safety exit and life vest lecture if one of the stewardesses ever needs me to stand in.--in Greek.

Anyway, we love you, and we'll hope to be in touch more soon. Despite my whining, the Gospel is SO true, and God's children are SO wonderful!

Bill

Hello family and friends,

Where to start, there are so many crazy things I could talk about. Lets start with me driving for the first time this week. Brooks and Marie were with me and aside from Brooks screams of fear that he was going to die, we made it to the church. The scooters and motorcycles just buzz all around you, down the middle of the lane etc. so you try to ignore that. Despite going down a couple of one way streets ( it's so hard to tell, there are so many one way streets) I think I can do this driving thing here. So here is the thing with my language skills, I know enough to get started and be kind and friendly and then they assume that I speak Greek and then I am in trouble because they get a big smile and just start a going, speaking so fast that I am not even sure if it is Greek at that point. I had it happen again this morning out in front of our house, I just smile and pretend I understand and wish them a good day. Brooks is usually bent over in laughter when that happens. I have also had them tell me they speak English but as we get started I can tell they have no idea what I am saying.

Today we attempted the grocery store by ourselves. (Last week we had Bill come, so he could translate) You buy a lot of things at a counter. . . cheese, meat, bakery etc. I just say in Greek, "I would like that please" and point. They literally have 10 or more different kinds of Feta cheese in these big blocks and with charades I ask the cheese guy which one he would get, he smiled and pointed to one and I said "great, I'll take that one." The Greek yogurt over here is soooooo good, (I guess Greek yogurt should be good in Greece, ha) very mild, so smooth and again so many choices in these big tubs. I eat it everyday for breakfast. Gelato is also very big here and very tasty! Lots of little icecream shops around, also little pastry shops. (thats going to be a problem) I love the street markets for fruits and veggies, that is the only thing over here that is cheap. Everything else is fairly expensive.

Brooks cut the assistants hair and Bills this last week, and did a great job. I guess he learned how on his mission and all the missionaries came to Brooks when they could. ha We visited the temple of Posideon, remember it from the Disney movie Hercules and he skips the rock to the little island. Also visited a little seaport town called Sunio where we had lunch with a senior couple that is going home. Marie ordered grill cheese thinking it was a sandwich, nope only grilled cheese. So funny, but good cheese. Alinda turned 17 this week and so we went to Corinth, (one of the places Paul taught) Brooks calls it, "Rocks with meaning" and then to an old military fortress in Nafphlio where in honor of her Birthday we climbed the 1000 steps to the top. Really, there are a 1000 steps and the view from the top was breathtaking. After I wanted to go swimming in my clothes but the family wouldn't let me. I have learned now that you must always have swim wear with you at all times, just in case you see a great beach, because it is pretty hot over here right now.

We spoke in church again Sunday about being a modern day pioneer. I challenged them to leave their own Legacy etc. I wasn't going to speak in Greek but then it happened and I knew I had to bear my testimony in Greek. I knew exactly who I would be speaking too; he was a kind looking black man in the corner, and after the meeting I found him and told him to keep coming to church. One of the visitors had come back for a holiday but had previously lived here for 3 years working for the Embassy. She sat by us in Sunday School and cried as she watched a lady (Nancy) teach Sunday School. She was in Greece when Nancy was first baptized, and now 7 years later Nancy was teaching the class. The members here have amazing stories and many are alone because their family will have nothing to do with the church and now nothing to do with them because they joined the church. Demonstrations are going on quite often in by the center of town. We keep an eye on where they are so the missionaries can stay out of those areas. I guess there were a few gas bombs that were let off as well last week. We hear cars go by with megaphones shouting things sometimes but other than that we don't really notice the chaos going on with the government issues. Not as many lines at the ATM's and some of the banks are opening back up.

Love, Sister LeeAnn Heder