The Adventure Begins! July, 2015

We have had a whirlwind of adventures this last couple of weeks. Everyday we talk about getting the email thing or blog up and running but each day has been soooo filled wonderful missionary things. Just trying to get our feet underneath us. Our mission tour was wonderful, the missionaries were so excited to see us and we were so excited to see them. We felt so welcomed by our senior couples and missionaries, a lot of them are from England so we are all trying to learn how to have their cool accents. Of course they chuckle at how we say words but we have learned many fun phrases, like "going down the apples and pears" is going down the stairs, "put some wood in the hole" is close the door. etc.

 

One thing, Greece is very Greek! Most of the places we have gone around town everything is written in Greek and everyone talks Greek, some of the younger generation will speak English and the workers who have come to the house speak a little bit, but not much English. It is a good game of charades most of the time. Especially at the grocery store where I don't know what anything is unless it has a picture on it. The AP's have been great to help us out a few times but I told Brooks he is in for a treat when I take him by myself. I finally figured out how to turn on my stove and oven but we are still experimenting with the washer, trying different buttons to see what different settings do. (all in Greek) Luckily the dryer has pictures.

 

Well it is very green and beautiful here, with sooo many flowering bushes and boginvilia etc. The plants and flowers are supersized over here so you know that I am in heaven. At the end of our street is a hill with 144 stairs, (Marie counted them) that go up to a trail head with lots of hiking and biking trails. We see 4 to 6 turtles every time we hike up those stairs. We also have a tortoise in our yard that Marie has named Tommy. We feed him veggies and he loves that. From the top of the hill near our home you have some great vistas of Athens. It is breathtaking and we are very close to the Olympic Stadium complex which we might even try and walk over too. There are orange and lime trees everywhere, they are not in season right now but there are lots in the trees. There is a walking park just in front of our house and we have enjoyed that as well. We took Brooks on it to go and get his first Greek gyro. (Good thing Bill speaks Greek or we would not have known what to order.) Which brings up Brooks, yes he is back, better than ever, and already teasing his sisters and enjoying that fun. Bill got to release him and we had some very wonderful testimony time as a family. Brooks didn't want to take off his badge, so he keeps it in his pocket and he wore his missionary attire an extra day. Church was the next day and Brooks gave two mini homecoming talks in two different Branches in central Athens. He did great. You have to speak slower when they are translating for you and it takes some getting used too. I attempted some Greek in the Greek branch but Bill did great and spoke all in Greek. He speaks mostly in Greek to the missionaries. One cute little Greek lady adopted the girls on Sunday and pinched their cheeks and told them they were beautiful. During the Relief Society lesson these little ladies just start talking, which sounds like arguing with each other while the teacher is trying to teach, its so funny. The teacher said it first in Greek and then in English. The church is 10 min. from the Acropolis and so we took a stroll and were able to see some of the beauty in the heart of Athens. We leave for Cyprus tomorrow for Zone Conference and interviews with the other half of our missionaries. We will speak in church on Sunday and then head back to Athens. 

 

I was reading D&C 11 the other day and I thought of Greece when I read vs. 3 , "Behold, the field is white already to harvest;" it is very white here. Ha! I hope they are preparing to feel of his spirit, "which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy. vs. 13. One more quick thing - I had a good opportunity to visit with the workers that brought our stuff from the moving company. One of the moving guys spoke English and we talked about where we could find a good beach and scuba diving and his rock climbing here, he said he needed to stop smoking and I said yes he did and  then I decided to tell him why I was here in Greece. I decided to jump in and go for it and be a missionary,  I asked him if he would like a book called the Book of Mormon and I told him what was about and then I took him upstairs to talk with the missionaries where we all bore witness of the truth of the book and how it could help him change his life, and then it happened the spirit bore witness of this truth and you could see it touch him and I looked at the missionaries and we all felt it, and with tears in our eyes he smiled at us and said that he thought it might be true and we exchanged information to reach him again.  I realized more than ever before that we just need to share this great message of hope and happiness and the Spirit will place people in our path that are ready to receive.

 Love to you all, LeeAnn

Hi Everyone!

I'm sorry that it's taken a while to figure out a way to send updates. We are not the most technically-gifted mission president and wife. That explains why our mission will likely never be one of those that gets ipads for the missionaries... I've already apologized to the missionaries for that.

It's been a big whirlwind, but I don't think any of us would complain. It seems that while there is more than any one day can hold, day after day we are grateful for the wonderful experiences that come when we are involved in missionary work. We just go to bed exhausted, wake up the next morning and start again, already behind and overwhelmed and glad to be here.

I've had several highlights that I could probably count as favorites, but it's safe to say that all of them involve moments when we've been with the missionaries. For whatever reason, they have the ability to bring out the best things. It's always wonderful to be with them. I've had a chance to go street contacting, to do baptismal interviews, to watch them challenge and first contact on doorsteps and in restaurants. It's pretty hard to describe how these normal kids can find the courage to open their mouths, talk to complete strangers, and do the miraculous.

Then there are the faithful few members. it's so heart-warming to come into a little chapel in either the remote Thessaloniki or downtown Athens, below the Acropolis and Mars Hill, and find sweet people waiting for visitors. We walk in and we're immediately surrounded and embraced. I've talked to several congregations in Greek and each time there have been people with tears in their eyes waiting to talk to me as soon as the meeting ends. They feel so alone, it's just a miracle for them to have someone take an interest in them.

The people are good people in a nearly impossible financial situation, with a couple thousand years of culture and superstition piled on. They've almost been taught that there is nothing you can trust, no authority that is real or honest, and no church or religion that gives them any reason to believe that things can change. 

Thankfully, the Lord is in charge, and the work will hasten in His time.

We are grateful for your support and interest, and send our love--and hopefully a few updates and pics every once in a while.

- Bill

If you want to keep up with our adventures, you can follow our daughters Marie and Alinda on Instagram (alinda_heder and marieheder13) or check out Alinda's blog too! ourbigfatgreekmission.blogspot.com 

Our mission tour began in Cyprus

Marie and Alinda took advantage of the time in between meetings.

Dinner with Georgia and Paniotis 

Next, we got to meet with the missionaries in Thessaloniki!

Eating our first greek gyro.

The boardwalk and white tower in Thessaloniki

Finally, we got to meet with our missionaries in Athens.

Sisters dinner at the mission home.

Elder Heder returns from his mission in Jacksonville, Florida!

Mars Hill - Where the apostle Paul taught the Greek people over 2,000 years ago!

(Acts 17)

View of the Parthenon from Mars Hill

The view from the hill right by our house

We get our workout in just climbing the stairs to our front door. ;)

Our e-mails have been complicated in that we thought we sent one last week but it didn't go out and we are just getting that all figured out. We will get some pictures included as well. This doubles up the letters for the week. To all of our family and friends we love you and are so grateful for your positive vibes. We truly do lose track of what day it is sometimes, especially when we are over on Cyprus because we don't have a home there and we stay in hotels. We also have to get used to driving on the other side of the road and other side of the car. Bill only got honked at once :) It feels so weird as you are driving. The perk was that it was right on the beach and breakfast was amazing and I didn't have to cook it :) They made fresh squeezed orange juice right next to where you eat and as they squeeze the oranges it just smells amazing. So our schedule when we are over on Cyprus involves a lot of travel but we are not complaining the drives have been gorgeous. However one day my schedule was: swim in sea, meeting with senior couples, swim in the sea, dinner with member family, swim in the sea. That was also the day that Brooks went to the beach white ( two years, no sun) and left pink. The water is very was warm, surprisingly warm, like a heated swimming pool and just crystal clear.

On Cyprus we have missionaries in four different areas and we try to go visit members and meet all the branch presidents and there families. One of the branch presidents told us that about 90% of Cyprus businesses declared some form of bankruptcy when the banking system collapsed five years ago. The government seized 40% of everyones bank holdings. (hard to believe that could happen) Business is starting to rebuild but the economy took a huge hit. There are soooo many very nice restaurants and shops along the seafront that just sit empty with very little business. When they do get business it is late at night. They eat dinner here about 10 pm, really. They have a period during the day from 12:30 to 3:30 pm that they call mesi meri, where everything closes down and they go rest. It is tough for mission work, the missionaries have to go out in the morning and teach and then come home and do their companionship study and language study during mesi meri because people get really upset when you bother them during their afternoon nap. Ha! We had a great dinner with a Cypriot couple, Georgia and Paniotis that invited an investigator and the missionaries. Bill was able to go with the missionaries to teach him a discussion on the commandments and service in the church. He is getting baptized next Sat. in the sea and we are so excited for him. He has so much faith and hope in his future, and two beautiful children whose lives will be forever changed with a gospel centered life and focus. There home was beautiful but sooo Greek, I loved it, watch for a picture. Zone Conference was wonderful, a repeat of what we had done in Athens the week earlier. The Elders taught, Bill and I taught and then the sisters gave some great training. A sweet lady who is an amazing cook provides lunch, she loves the missionaries. She is an amazing Greek style cook and the missionaries so look forward to her meal. She made Mousaka, which is like Greek lasagne sort of, a great Greek salad and a creamy peach dessert. Our P-day was great, really it was mind blowing.

A senior couple told us about Kronos, this beautiful beach they had visited, and so we attempted to find it. Well it did not disappoint, you guys know how I feel about a great beach and nice water - Heaven! We spent most of our time in the water snorkeling around the rocks, amazing visibility. After a busy week of meetings and interviews it was great. We hiked around to some caves and jumped in more beautiful water. A guy was fishing on the cliff above us and yelled at Brooks when he got to close to his lines. Sunday we attended church in Larnica and Brooks bore his testimony and Bill and I spoke. Wow I need to get used to lots of speaking opportunities. I still can't get used to people taking notes while I talk, no pressure. After church we had meeting with Elder Charles from the Area Presidency. During that time Brooks, with a white board and marker in hand, tried to give the assistants a lesson in American football. Elder Jacobsen was there also and he was a former football coach from Springville area and loved Brooks explanation. The missionaries were still puzzled when he was done. Good fun!

Sorry this is a little long, but I wanted to end with a thought about missionary work. During Christ's ministry he often taught in parables. This way he could teach those who were ready to learn and he taught them truth and doctrine but let them apply the principle to their own life without telling the listeners what to do. They could then seek for a spiritual conformation for answers to their challenges. He pointed them to the spirit and then let them seek and have a witness of spirit. See 3 Nephi 11, 12, 13 love you family, MOM p.s. the banking issues have not gone away, and there are demonstrations etc. all the time but the grocery stores still have food and they have not run out of money at the ATM's yet. A news guy came up to Bill and I and asked if they could interview us about how we felt about the banking crisis etc. I told them I was not Greek and they said OK, never mind they wanted a Greek perspective. Funny, with my dark hair I guess I look a little Greek. :) - LeeAnn

Kronos Beach