Biertam and Sighisoara

Our first tour at the seniors conference took us to the beautiful village of Biertam. This is the historic site for one of the 7 Citadels erected by the Saxons for protection against invaders from the east. The Citadel in Biertam has a rich history dating back to the 1400's. These citadels were the primary protection for the Turkish invaders. They were built as self contained little cities. They usually had their own water and a large supply of grain and other types of food. They could sustain long periods of siege and attacks. One of the most interesting parts of the citadel was the matrimonial prison. If a couple was having issues, they were put in this small room for several months together! And, over the 400 years of use, there were only 3 or 4 divorces!! I think I will recommend this to President Schmit and the Bishops!!
Next we were off to scenic Sighisoara in the Carpathian Mountains, where rumor has that this was the home of the notable Vlad the Impaler, aka. Count Dracula. We did not run into him, but we did dine near his birthplace (there was no blood on the menu however). Vlad got his name because he would impale his enemies on poles to discourage the Turks from trying to invade his country. The Romanians actually think he was pretty cool. The scenery was very beautiful and very European. The Russian influence in Romania was not nearly as vivid as it is in Moldova.

Senior Conference

On April 13 - 15, the Romania Bucharest Mission held a conference for all the senior couples in Sibiu, Romania. Sibiu had the distinction of being named the cultural center of Europe in 2004. We were able to meet in the Sibiu Hotel Imparatul Romanilor, originally build in 1555. But, it was remodeled in the 1880's!! The hotel was beautiful and we all were quite surprised to have such nice accommodations. The rooms in this hotel were gorgeous. We had presentations each morning with tours in the afternoons. It was very uplifting and informative. Each couple was able to talk about their assignments and give a spiritual message about service here in this part of the world. Elder Hinson gave the senior couples a preview of the presentation he has been asked to give at the YSA conferences that will be held in Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Southern France. Sister Hinson gave a personal sketch about our family and made specific mention about our parents (Leonard and Leona, Robert and Maxine) and the examples they set for us. We came away renewed and ready to take on the challenges that face all missionaries in the mission field.

Pro Aris School for Visually Impaired Children

Pro Aris’s main purpose is the rehabilitation and social integration of blind children or children that are visually impaired. The association promotes family solidarity ensuring that children have a more normal life. This association is oriented to help families which have visually impaired children by creating positive life learning conditions, and providing more specialized educational opportunities for skill development and social integration. Children come to the school following regular school hours. They arrive between 12:30 and 1 pm. They begin learning activities about 1:30pm. The activities are varied and include, hand work (crocheting, knitting), physical exercises, games, computer skill learning. The children leave the facility at 6 pm. Elder and Sora Hinson had the opportunity to work with the president of this school. This lady is a work horse. She works nonstop doing whatever it takes to make this school a success. When we first visited this facility it was just a mud hut. We would visit this facility and find her plastering walls, tearing out walls, hammering, shoveling, etc. She also looks for and finds help for so many needy families. (The disabled in this country are ignored, and many wish they would just go away.) This lady works hours helping the poor and needy. LDS Charities was able to provide floor tiles, wall tile, paint, new table and chairs, 2 exercise machines, and new sink and faucets for the bathroom. We also provided food kits that included flour, sugar, oil, buckwheat, and rice. Some of the young single adults from the branch helped us put these kits together. We were able to hand out the kits at their opening ceremony. This work is so rewarding!!!

Shoe Shop

While the Durrance’s, Jackson’s, and Culamore’s were here for the worldmade wheelchair assessment we were given a tour of the Society of the Disabled shoe factory to see how the disabled in this country are trying to help themselves. It was very fascinating to see how they made shoes from equipment that was 60 years old. Some of the sewing machines they are using where made in 1948. It was amazing to see how these people use what they have and the good quality of shoe they are able to produce. They employ 15 disabled people, and provide shoes for about 300 people a month. We decided this was a very worthy cause and are hoping to get 4 or 5 new sewing machines for this factory. They will be able to produce more shoes and also lower their prices because they can produce them faster. The quality should also improve. The ladies that are doing the sewing now are doing an amazing job. When they need a double stitch they are doing it all with just a single stitch machine. They have to be so precise in their sewing, and sew everything twice. Their glue room also needs better ventilation, but that is a problem we can’t solve.

Driving to Bucharest

Elder and Sora Hinson along with Elder and Sora Telford had a big adventure on March 13th. The Telford's had CES meetings in Bucharest and invited Fred and I to go with them. Neither of us had driven in Moldova or Romania since coming on our missions and were a little nervous about navigating the roads and traffic. We didn't want to go on the Harry Potter train again, and certainly not take a maxi taxi for 12 hours. So that left 1 option, drive! We had a GPS with us in the car and everything was great. We will probably drive again as long as we have GPS, or (Jill) with us. The highlight of the trip was to the biggest mall I have ever seen. We ate at Burger King, and the hamburger and fries were great! Nothing like greasy fast food. That night we took Fred to the Marriott Hotel for birthday dinner and dessert. It was a great get-a-way weekend.