GOING HOME FOR SOME

At our Zone Conference in August we were with some of our very favorite elders who were going home. Here we have Elder Owen (from California) and Elder Thompson (from Connecticut). They were office elders when we arrived in Poland and they were the ones who took us to our apartment and got us set up there in Warsaw. They spent a lot of time getting us legalized for Poland and we didn't have to go to England!! (If the paperwork isn't done within 90 days you must leave the country, have your passport stamped and then return and start the paperwork all over again.) When we moved to Lodz they also moved us here. They drove our car with all of our things on a very snowy day (!!!) and we rode the train and met them here. They brought us to our apartment here after showing us the important places (church, store and parking) and taking us shopping for a few essentials (like milk, cereal and TP)!! They were great!! We knew Elder Owen's uncle in Henderson. Elder Thompson is going to BYU and plays the violin so very, very WELL!!!! He was a Branch President in Lublin at the time of his departure.

Here is Elder Balija. He is from California and we love him. We had to go the Bydgoszcz to visit the Institute there as well as inspect the Elder's apartments and besides he was our Zone Leader. In Bydgoszcs he helped us get a hotel and took us all over town to find the apartments and the church and we took the elders to dinner there, also. He was an assistant to the President at the end of his mission.


Next we have Elder Brown. He was our District Leader in Warsaw (we were in two districts and he was one of the leaders). He was always so nice to us and we loved him!!
I well remember the day before we left Warsaw we visited both district meetings that day and we were late to his district, in fact we arrived just in time for the closing prayer! (We had taken our replacements to both district meetings to meet the missionaries and take pictures so we were late.) Elder Brown said, "We were going to spotlight you today (they had heard we were leaving) but you weren't here." Then he said, "You have done so much in the short time you have been here!" I didn't think we had done much at all - just make cookies and showing up to the meetings it seemed. He said, "No, you did so much and we are sad to see you go."
Our other district leader was Elder Loosli and he is replacing Elder Thompson as BP in Lublin.

And then we have these fine elders. They are not ready to go home but they make a nice picture. We have Elder Turley, Elder Buckner and Elder Torke. They have all been our district leaders in Lodz and are great young men. Makes a nice picture I think. For district leader in Lodz we have also had Elder Mehner who went home the end of August with the before mentioned Elders but was in a different zone and not at our Zone Conference.