Heder Mission Moments: Zone Conference

I don’t remember the last time I needed an alarm to wake up or anything special to make me fall asleep within seconds. So it was before 5:30 a.m. this morning that I awoke on a fold-out couch in the living room of President Enea Tanto, Branch President in Thessaloniki. On my prior trips to Thessaloniki he had expressed his desire to have me stay at his home. It’s a small, two bedroom apartment where Enea, his wife, his two small children and his mother and father all live. In order for me to be their guest for the evening, the children needed to sleep with their parents. I worried about crowding them--particularly as I saw their tiny bathroom and realized that all of us would need to prepare for Sunday meetings in that little space. Nonetheless, I couldn’t keep declining his persistent invitations forever, so we spent last evening practicing a vocal duet in Greek that we would share in Sacrament Meeting, and we discussing gospel principles applicable to his leadership. It was in the nature of a home teaching visit, combined with a personal priesthood interview. He then took his little girl and boy off to bed and I tried to find a single comfortable position between springs and braces and pillows. I still fell asleep in seconds.

Church today brought another full chapel in Thessaloniki, with 34 people attending, including 4 investigators. The reality is that each day I feel a slight shadow hanging over me--a sense that our numbers for teaching and baptisms are not as high as they should be. But then on Sunday, as I sit on a tiny stand somewhere in the mission and see the small chapel gradually fill up with this ragged and beautiful band of followers, I have a renewed faith that we will eventually find a way to succeed here.

President Tanto and I sang a vocal duet in Greek (a primary hymn). He is a very good man; self-made and hard working, as a cab-driver. He feasts on the gospel and lives his religion. Though he was born in Albania, he sings in classic Greek style, with a slightly nasal tone, swelling on the extended vowels. I knew he enjoyed singing, so a couple of visits back I suggested that we sing together. He jumped at the chance. That was the same visit that he asked to be my driver as I went from my last meeting to my hotel. He brought his little kids along, and we were all singing the hymns in Greek at full volume. The little one's don't say the words, but they know the meter and yell the notes, ("na na na na!) and repeat each hymn again and again until their father starts another one. My ears were ringing by the time we got to my hotel. As always, he had got out of the car and hugged me and asked me to make sure I stayed with him next time I came. So, staying at his home this time was a good thing for two friends. This morning as everyone prepared to go to church, he convinced me to drink a raw egg white to give my voice added clarity for our performance. I don’t know if my voice was more clear, or how our song sounded, but I won’t be drinking more raw egg whites any time soon.

Being in Thessaloniki, the meeting was all in Greek. After our duet, I spoke on the reality of miracles in our lives today. I hoped to establish that when we are obedient and when we are serving others, we begin to see miracles, both small and great, in our lives and the lives of those around us. With due consideration to privacy, I shared a number of experiences from missionary letters over recent weeks wherein God’s hand was made apparent. I expressed a feeling I've long had, that if we had the means and a good reason, we could gather together the stories from our separate lives and it would form a book of miracles that would match or exceed those of the Bible, to which the rest of the Christian world looks as the only record of Gods miracles.

Bill O. Heder
Greece, Athens Mission

Hello Family,

I was on a bike ride one sunny morning this last week and I am always amazed at how a friendly Hello can completely change the countenance and even the physical posture of the person you say it too. I stopped and talked with 3 people in my 1 hour bike ride that proved this point. The first young man was very crippled and walked with hand braces, but it was slow and very difficult for him. When I stopped to say hello and tell him that it was great he was out exercising he just started beaming. I told him that I was impressed that even though it was hard, he was doing very well. It occurred to me how most people have two working legs and don't give thanks for that blessing like we should. I did on that day :)

I continued to do more laps around this big park, smiling at him and telling him "good job" each time we passed. I stopped again to commend him on his efforts, because I could see how excited he was with his efforts and progress. We were both speaking half Greek/English. I cheered for him again, "kala, kala, orea! He said that he would go to the top. I don't know if he needed me to stop and say Hello to him this day but when I left him, I felt like my friendship was appreciated and he was visibly happy.

Another lady was taking out her trash and I said Hello, (which always startles them-- but then they seem to light up that someone acknowledges them). We talked about the area of Philothei, about her family, and I told her about being here on a mission. The third guy made my day. I called out "Kali Mera!" (good morning) and he looked up, paused and smiled and called back the same. He called out some more Greek greetings very happily and I turned my bike around and went back to say, "Na eiste panda kala!" (may everything be good with you!) With a very big smile and his arms high in the air, he shouted to me as I started to ride away, "Make it a very, very, very good day" (he said it in Greek and the miracle was I understood him, ha!) He seemed very happy to share in that Hello with me and we were both lifted up, taking that positive energy into other things we would do in our day. Yes I want to help baptize and bring souls unto Christ here in Greece, but first it starts with Hello, Yia sas!

Sat. the girls and I had a good day of organizing in the mission home and preparing sheets and beds for 12 extra missionaries who will be staying in the Mission Home next Monday. Before they arrive we will have a Zone Conference here and then head for Cyprus to repeat the missionary Zone Conf. and then District Conference is Sat. and Sunday, (which is like stake conference) and brings all the members on Cyprus together. We will come home late Sunday night, only to get up and at it early Monday and start training for the trainers, then pick up the new Elders and Sisters from the airport. Great stuff!

I was hiking up the hill in Philothei after all the house cleaning etc. to see the sunset because this week they have been unbelievable. A member even told me that they have talked about the sunsets on the Greek news channels. Friday afternoon Bill and the girls and I drove along the coast to celebrate the girls surviving their first term of school, took in another classic sunset and enjoyed dinner at a nice souvlaki place.

The next day I decided to go take a walk after dinner to see the sunset one more time. You just have to climb 144 steps to get to it. (Yes I counted them and they go straight up the hill, its so cool) On my way back from heaven :) I said hello to 2 teenage boys walking down the street and I told them how beautiful Philothei was and asked if they had grown up here. We talk for a bit about Greece, the weather, schools etc. Then it happened, they asked why I would bring my family to Greece. We continued to talk about religion and God for about 40 min. (which was interesting to me because it was their weekend.) One of the boys told me he didn't believe in God and it lead to a discussion on why I DO believe in God. He took our info. and said he wanted to research more online. Again, the power of Hello. I love it ! Off to Cyprus!

Love, LeeAnn, Mom, Sister Heder