Heder Mission Moments: February 2016

February 23, 2016

Recently I’ve become convinced that the Adversary has launched a noisy campaign to interrupt all good things in Greece. Today during the Sacrament prayer in one of the Acropoli Greek branches, a little car with loudspeakers mounted on top turned down the alley behind the chapel and slowly passed by, blaring a message advertizing Orthodox scriptures, icons and other religious items desirable to all “true believers.” I couldn’t hear the young man who was trying to give the Sacrament Prayer. Last night in the middle of a baptismal service in a different chapel (on the other side of Athens) the landscaping crew who had been working on the church grounds all day (but had no business working so late on a Saturday night) fired up a gas-powered blower just as Alinda’s musical number began. It raged on through the musical number and then sporadically started and stopped during the actual baptismal ordinance--and may have led to having to immerse the poor fellow three times before it was done right... The noise seemed to reach its peak volume exactly when we most needed reverence. The night before, while LeeAnn attempted to hold the first ever “New Beginnings” meeting for the young women in Athens, an old roto-tiller fired up outside, and we could barely hear the speakers.

So today, as Beelzebub blared down the alley behind us, we just figured it was par for the course.

I’ve always loved peace and quiet, but now, in its comparative rarity, I value it even more. I remember how my sons used to look at me when I forbade them to bounce basket balls inside our home. From their body language at the time I knew they thought I was just opposed to all fun, games and the enjoyment of life in general. But in light of what I’m witnessing here lately, I’m pretty sure I was doctrinally right: like so many other good things that have been turned to diabolical purposes, basket balls, loudspeakers, rototillers and gas-powered blowers have no place in the kitchen or the chapel.

Bill O. Heder

Greece Athens Mission

Hi family,

President Heder told a story in Branch Conference about watching a young boy play soccer with his Dad in a field across from the mission office. The little boy was trying to be a goalie, and every time the dad kicked the ball towards the goal the boy would run and fall on the ball the same dramatic style, no matter how it came and at what speed. No matter if the ball had no chance of getting to the goal he would still dramatically fall on the ball.

The point that Bill was making was that from this little play was that sometimes we get into habits or ruts and don't stop to consider why we do things that way. Relating this to our Sabbath Day worship, he asked what it would take for us to evaluate what we have always done, and look for a better way to show our Heavenly Father what this covenant means to us. He invited the congregation to mark in their lives for everyone else to see, that their God had helped them, and they acknowledge it.

Two highlights for the week. We held New Beginnings in Athens for our 4 great young women and it was a wonderful evening. Alinda did a lot of the planning and we explained the Values, Personal Progress, and enjoyed a slide show of the girls and video of this years theme etc.

Then the baptism of Athanasios was Sat. He was just so happy and when we talked before his baptism he held his hand on his heart and told me that his heart was so full of so much happiness. We exchanged air kisses on both sides of the face, (which you do a lot here) and I told him his life would never be the same and so many blessings were in store for him. He is a very big Greek man, and our font is small. Elder Teal did his best, but on the third try he successfully immersed all of him and Athanasios came up so happy.

Thursday if we are home in Athens I always visit the traveling farmers market that comes to our neighborhood, because the veggies and fruits are so amazing. I was happy to take Alinda with me so I could introduce her to my orange farmer friend. He has lots of kinds of oranges, mandarins and clementines, etc., and he shows me which ones to get. He is a very kind and happy person and it makes me sad that the farmers have so many problems with the government right now. After buying strawberries and some other veggies we headed home but I told Alinda I had to take her past the "tree of life." I found it here in Philothei :)

There is a lemon tree that is full of a least a hundred lemons. This time when I went by the house I just had to stop to take a picture. Well the owner was out pruning the tree and I talked to him the best I could, and I told him how "oraiah" his tree was. He got a bag and gave me some of the lemons and had me pick some as well. I could tell he loved his tree, he had pruned it and taken care of it and it was loaded with lemons. (I once had a tree that I loved in my yard, until my son Trevor took the weed eater and cut the bark off all the way around - I told him to pray for the tree because his life depended on it). Anyway it was a nice to stop and admire this great tree and tell the owner that I thought his tree was beautiful and celebrate this tree, the sunny day and a new acquaintance.

Marie and Austin are healing from their various injuries. Marie fell hard on her hand (basketball game) and got a hairline fracture in her radius. I don't have space enough in the letter the fully share the fun I had going to a Greek hospital - luckily the doctor spoke some English and lets just say it's different than home. The sad thing was she missed a big tournament at her school with eight basketball teams from Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, and Thessaloniki Greece. Her team took 2nd place and Marie was great to go support all the games. They had a fancy banquet on Friday night with all the players. Luckily she got her cast off and she can start playing again this week. They go to a tournament in London the first part of March so she is happy she isn't missing that.

Now for Austin it has been tough. (also rough for Mom who is not close enough to help) He probably broke a bone in his foot at the end of last season, but played through it thinking it was turf toe. During lifting he had something snap and ended up getting surgery to put a screw in to hold his sesamoid (sp.) bone together. Everything went well and he has a big cast on his foot and he is getting around on a scooter for his one leg. (I know we need pictures, right) The hardest thing is that this will probably take him out of Spring ball and that is a major bummer. He is optimistic and still very positive, the coaches have been great and he is enjoying their new energy. Thank goodness he has his darling finance Chloe to keep his spirits up. They are getting married May 6th. So exciting!

I have been on the phone a lot this last week trying to connect with some of the organizations here that are helping the refugees here in Greece. We have a member in Rhodes that is working with "Helping Hands" and we are trying to figure out if we should make the hygiene kits here and ship them or ship product from Germany straight to Rhodes. Anyway it is fun to be a part of all this - I love it, but like many people have expressed, I wish I could do so much more. I have to take consolation in the fact that the Church has people in place and relationships with organizations who are best positioned to make a difference. Our fast offerings and humanitarian aid contributions go where they do the most good.

Love ya,

Sister LeeAnn Heder

Pictures: New Beginnings, my favorite - the fruit market and flower market, flowering quince, loving this lemon tree, Alinda and I on top of Philothei hill, old churches, every flavor of eclair you could imagine,

Pics of some of our great missionaries !

New Beginnings with our 4 young women in Athens

We love the farmers market

I think I found the "tree of life"

Top of Phliothei Hill

LOVE

More LOVE - every flavor of eclair you could want :)

Feb. 16, 2016

Long before we arrived in Greece, it evidently became a part of the political culture

here in Greece for those segments of society who consider themselves most likely to be offended by proposed laws, (soon to be voted upon in parliament) to call a strike or to demonstrate in some interruptive manner for days at a time. It's an exercise intended to draw the public's attention to their pains, but the inconvenience caused by their strikes and demonstrations seems only to outrage the rest of the public.
We arrived in Thessaloniki Friday evening to a bit of rain, and after meeting the sisters at the church and enjoying interviews we took them out to dinner, which was delightful for my girls to have more friends to talk with. On our way to the hotel later we saw something on the road, and after looking closer we saw that they were frogs, lots of frogs and many were squished from cars that had already passed by. We tried our best to dodge them but it was amazing how many there were. The next day after some more rain we encountered the same thing but there were more of them, literally 100's of them and Bill was doing his best NASCAR driving trying to steer away from them, but if they jumped the wrong way-- it was fatal, and the girls and I were squealing and laughing because we didn't like the bump of rolling over one. Ha, sorry for the visual but it was so funny :) I will let you draw you own frog analogies about being in the wrong place, choices etc.
After spending the next morning in some more interviews and companionship study with the Elders we took a drive to Edessa, named "City of Waterfalls". We weren't sure if we should go because it was a bit rainy but that made it even more fun when we got there because we could not tell if it was the spray from the Falls or the rain that was getting us wet. It was beautiful and Alinda keep commenting that she felt like she was in the land of hobbits because of the moss covered rocks and trees. Through the rain we continued up a mountain road to a town that a few had said was "wonderful." We found the Greek tavern that we were encouraged to look for and sat by a nice fireplace and enjoyed a true Greek meal. Pork and lamb cooked on a spit, veal with eggplant, steamed vegetables and a Greek salad, which we never seem to tire of. On the way home we stopped and saw the hot springs that are the big draw for that town at the mouth of a large canyon.
One of the members (who speaks pretty good English but it is with literal translation) told me at church, "It is all about the Jesus" and when talking about Alinda's musical number. He said, "The music is the bridge for the Jesus". I love his faith and conversion even through he has many challenges in his life right now. Alinda has played a beautiful arrangement of "I believe in Christ" in each of the Branch Conferences that we have traveled to, and in each of them tissues are needed. The spirit comes quickly to the hearts of those really listening. Alinda plays with a tenderness that invites the listener in. You feel how much she cares for the message of the song, which goes beyond just playing the notes. She isn't playing any grand concertos or winning competitions over here in Greece, but the gift her amazing teacher Ralph VanDerBeek helped her discover and fine tune is being used well.
Three new missionaries arrived last week and one Elder finished his mission and returned home. We love having them stay with us in the mission home as they come and as they go. For those just coming in, we feed them, love them, train them, motivate them and tell them they are just beginning the best two years of their lives, making memories that they will treasure and look back on for the rest of their lives. So they had better work to make the memories amazing !
Sister LeeAnn Heder
Pictures: New missionaries and testimonies on Mars Hill. Some of the trees are full of blossoms. The guy with the roses was taken in Vienna last Sept. but in honor of Valentines Day I thought you would enjoy it :) The other roses were for sale at the airport for $70 Euro for 18 roses ! Wow!
Trip to Edessa and fun at the falls. A unique way to get honey at our hotel, dripping straight from the honeycomb. Church at our little branch in Thess.

This weekend, after doing companionship study and interviews with one companionship in Thessaloniki, Lee and I and the girls attempted to make our way to the mountain town of Edessa. What started as a beautiful drive through the country side became more of an adventure as we went deeper into agricultural areas. Farm tractors were parked on all sides of most major intersections going into or out of town; hundreds of them. Then, as we ventured through miles of fields and orchards we kept running into police blockades and being diverted onto ever more obscure lanes leading to smaller villages. Our travel time doubled, as did our hunger, since we had intended to eat when we got to Edessa.

The mystery was whether the farmers had actually blocked the roads beyond the police blockades, or if it was only the police attempting to show their control over the situation. We couldn't ever see tractors blocking the roads, but it's possible they where there, somewhere in the distance. I guess we’ll never know. What we know is that the little villages were quaint, the orchards and fields perfectly manicured, the hillsides blanketed with mist, and there were frogs on some of the roads by the hundreds.. Lee will talk about that one.

Being able to speak helped a little, but not as much as you'd think. Somehow knowing the map terms isn't enough, especially when the policeman or baker's wife is either grumpy or talking so fast that Socrates himself wouldn't be able to follow their directions. Luckily, we also had my telephone with Apple Maps, and a battery pack to keep the phone going. Most of the times the phone helped us navigate the backroads and towns alright, even in the fog. However, I would like to suggest that there may be a market for a phone app that combines a "Frogger" game with Apple maps, so someone like me could stay on the right back road while at the same time dodging little toads hopping all over the road.

Bill O. Heder

Greece, Athens Mission

We arrived in Thessaloniki Friday evening to a bit of rain, and after meeting the sisters at the church and enjoying interviews we took them out to dinner, which was delightful for my girls to have more friends to talk with. On our way to the hotel later we saw something on the road, and after looking closer we saw that they were frogs, lots of frogs and many were squished from cars that had already passed by. We tried our best to dodge them but it was amazing how many there were. The next day after some more rain we encountered the same thing but there were more of them, literally 100's of them and Bill was doing his best NASCAR driving trying to steer away from them, but if they jumped the wrong way-- it was fatal, and the girls and I were squealing and laughing because we didn't like the bump of rolling over one. Ha, sorry for the visual but it was so funny :) I will let you draw you own frog analogies about being in the wrong place, choices etc.

After spending the next morning in some more interviews and companionship study with the Elders we took a drive to Edessa, named "City of Waterfalls". We weren't sure if we should go because it was a bit rainy but that made it even more fun when we got there because we could not tell if it was the spray from the Falls or the rain that was getting us wet. It was beautiful and Alinda keep commenting that she felt like she was in the land of hobbits because of the moss covered rocks and trees. Through the rain we continued up a mountain road to a town that a few had said was "wonderful." We found the Greek tavern that we were encouraged to look for and sat by a nice fireplace and enjoyed a true Greek meal. Pork and lamb cooked on a spit, veal with eggplant, steamed vegetables and a Greek salad, which we never seem to tire of. On the way home we stopped and saw the hot springs that are the big draw for that town at the mouth of a large canyon.

One of the members (who speaks pretty good English but it is with literal translation) told me at church, "It is all about the Jesus" and when talking about Alinda's musical number. He said, "The music is the bridge for the Jesus". I love his faith and conversion even through he has many challenges in his life right now. Alinda has played a beautiful arrangement of "I believe in Christ" in each of the Branch Conferences that we have traveled to, and in each of them tissues are needed. The spirit comes quickly to the hearts of those really listening. Alinda plays with a tenderness that invites the listener in. You feel how much she cares for the message of the song, which goes beyond just playing the notes. She isn't playing any grand concertos or winning competitions over here in Greece, but the gift her amazing teacher Ralph VanDerBeek helped her discover and fine tune is being used well.

Three new missionaries arrived last week and one Elder finished his mission and returned home. We love having them stay with us in the mission home as they come and as they go. For those just coming in, we feed them, love them, train them, motivate them and tell them they are just beginning the best two years of their lives, making memories that they will treasure and look back on for the rest of their lives. So they had better work to make the memories amazing !

Sister LeeAnn Heder

Pictures: New missionaries and testimonies on Mars Hill. Some of the trees are full of blossoms. The guy with the roses was taken in Vienna last Sept. but in honor of Valentines Day I thought you would enjoy it :) The other roses were for sale at the airport for $70 Euro for 18 roses ! Wow!

Trip to Edessa and fun at the falls. A unique way to get honey at our hotel, dripping straight from the honeycomb. Church at our little branch in Thess.