Heder Mission Moments: February 16th 2016 - New Missionaries and Visit to Thessaloniki and Edessa

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.