Debrecen Branch Halloween Party

Halloween Fun!

On October 31st, we had a Branch Halloween Party.  Elder Cummings explained to the Hungarian Branch members what happens on Halloween in America.  Then, they actually did some of those activities.  They had a Mummy Wrap game, decorated monster cookies, trick or treated, bobbed for apples and watched a movie.  And of course, they had a suti table!  Everyone had a good time!

 

The Mummy Wrap!

The cookie decorating table.

The pumpkin making table.

Fun times visiting with friends.

President and Sister Szilagyi



Elder and Sister Cummings



Branch Members had a good time!



Everyone enjoyed making a monster face cookie and then eating it!

Elder Greaves' Sad Face Monster.



Elder Greaves' Happy Face Monster.



Sister Hanson's Stary Eyed Monster!

Elder D'Angina's apple bobbing prize!

Success at apple bobbing!



Eger

Elder and Sister Cummings and Sister Weberg and I drove to Eger to visit the castle, the Palacsintavar and the Marzapan Museum. Eger is such a quaint little town. It’s fun to just walk around it’s cobblestone streets and look at everything. We met Elder and Sister Scott and went to one of the outdoor Piac for a bit, then we went to lunch at the Palacsintavar. I love that place! :) Their palacsinta’s are amazing! Besides being delicious, they are a work of art. They make things so beautiful here! After stuffing ourselves, we walked it off by going up to the castle and looking around. 





In front of one of the statues honoring those who fought the Turkish invaders.

 

Walking up one of the cobblestone streets to the Palacsintavar.

The best Palacsinta restaurant in Hungary!

Sister Weberg's decorative dinner.



Elder and Sister Cummings' dessert palacsinta.

Sister Hanson's dessert palacsinta!

Inside the Castle walls looking out over Eger.

Sister Hanson and her favorite view of the city.

Holes in the castle wall made for cannons to shoot through.

Sister Weberg took a picture of us through one of the cannon holes.

I took a picture of Sister Weberg through the same hole in the castle wall.

How's this for a giant dog house?  :)  This is one of the guard dogs that roam the castle after closing time. 

Looking down at another castle area.

Senior's have fun too!  :) 

Trying out the play equipment made for small and big people alike.



A piller in the ruins of a Romanesque Cathedral.



More of the castle.



A view of the Minaret from the castle. 

The Minaret was built in the 17th century during Turkish occupation.  It is made from carved sandstone and stands 131 feet. 
 



After leaving the castle area, we went to the Marzipan Museum. 
All that you see in this picture is made of Marzipan, except for Sister Weberg, of course.  :)

 

Evelin's Baptism

Sister K., Sister W. and I headed to Szeged for Evelin’s baptism.  The Sisters were able to go because I was going and because it was Sister Kramer who found Evelin while streeting 6 months ago, and taught her for most of her 6 months of taking lessons.  The ride to Szeged was truly beautiful.  Even though our GPS doesn’t speak Hungarian very well, she knows where to lead us.   She took us on a wonderful adventure!  We traveled through many little towns and wide open countryside that was beautifully adorned with Fall colors.  The best part was yet to come however.  We went through one town and met a farmer with wagon full of hay coming down the street.  In the next town there were more people riding bicycles than driving cars.  We saw 80 year old women riding their bikes around town.  Then we were out into the countryside again.  After awhile, I noticed that the GPS showed that we were approaching a street called Ferry.  We laughed about that and said wouldn’t it be funny if it was a real ferry?  After a short drive, the GPS said, “In 200 meters, prepare to stop and board the ferry!”  We all said at pretty much the same time, “WHAT!  And then started laughing.  It was so cool!  We went up over a hill and came down to the ferry that would take us across the river.  We drove up onto the ferry, paid our 600 forints (about $3.00) and began our lovely ride across the river.  We felt like pioneers.  :)  It was a beautiful river crossing and we made it safe and sound on the other side.  Then, we just continued on our way to Szeged.

 

Our first look at the ferry. Two cars were coming across as we drove up.  Great timing!



Paying for our way across the river.

Traveling across the beautiful river.

The best part of this trip was Evelin’s baptism. Szeged doesn’t have a baptismal font, so she was holding her baptism in one of the Mineral Bathes. After a very nice program about baptism and a song by the missionaries, we went into the pool area. There were 3 large pools. The one in the center was where she would be baptized. The other two had people in them, who were splashing and laughing and having a good time. As we walked in, I thought, “this is so irreverent - how will they do a baptism in here with all these people?” But, as soon as Evelin stepped down into the pool, a big hush came over the entire area. The people stopped what they were doing and quietly watched. Then the ordinance was performed and we all felt the spirit sooo strong! It was an amazing experience! I will always remember how it felt! I learned that it doesn’t matter where the baptism takes place, the Holy Ghost will be there. It was wonderful!  

Evelin with the missionaries who found and taught her.

All of the missionaries who helped to teach her.

 

 

 

 

 

Morning Walks

Our Favorite Walking Places

 

 

One beautiful morning, Sister Weberg and I walked down to the Belvaros where most of the sights in Debrecen are located.  There is a the Great Reformed Church and fountain, as well as a statue of Kossuth  who was the most outstanding figure in the 19th century during the fight for independence.  It only took us 20 minutes to get there, so we looked around a bit.  I took some pictures of the beautiful buildings on that square without all the crowds of people around.  I took one picture of the statue of Kossuth who just happened to have a live pigeon on his shoulder that morning.  I loved it because it looked like he was gazing at it lovingly. Down the road a bit, I wanted to get a picture of a villamos in front of this really pretty building, so I waited for the villamos to come.  A big bus pulled  up first and I was thinking ‘keep going-I don’t want you in my picture’.  :)  But, it didn’t keep going.  However, when the villamos finally got there, it pulled up right along side the bus and stopped as if it were posing :) and hid the bus!  So, I got a really great picture.  I totally love it! 

 

Great Reformed Church

Kossuth Statue

I don't know what this is but it was a big beautiful building with a gorgeous sky above! 

My favorite picture of the day! 

 

Another favorite place to walk is the park just up the street from us.  It is gorgeous! 

 

 

 

Frog Lake during a rain storm!

Debrecen University is right next to the beautiful park we like to walk in.

 

Beautiful Fall Colors around the lake.

The ducks are making designs in the lake!  :)

This is a tree stump that had a baby tree growing in it as well as all kinds of mushrooms. 

Same tree stump from the side.

My favorite picture of all! 

Move to Debrecen

A New Apartment

 

 

Sister Weberg and I moved from Budapest to Debrecen.  Here we will have the opportunity to work with Elder and Sister Cummings.  They will be serving as Member support to the Branch, while we serve the Young Single Adults in Debrecen.  We have a very nice apartment that is only a block from the Branch House. 

This is our lovely living room/second bedroom.

 

This is our dining area.

Our little bit of spring in the winter.



This is the kitchen.

And bathroom.



Bedroom #1



Extra bedroom/Drying room

Beautiful view from our balcony!