Last Days in Cyprus for Some

Elders Yates and Held almost missed their flight to Athens where they spend a few days with President Freestone and travel HOME to Scotland and Denmark next Monday.

We will miss them terribly, but we are so thankful they made their flight after two years of faithful service to the Lord in the Greece Athens Mission! Now on to a successful life of college, marriage, career, family and continual service to the Lord.

Another couple of great missionaries, the Niebuhrs left this very morning at 5:30 for Italy to visit their son and his family for ten days and then on to their home in Sandy Utah.  We did so much with them and bonded like family with this great couple.

Last Sunday we had an extra large dinner with all these wonderful branch members and missionaries.  All four of the young elders are leaving us to serve elsewhere!  Why do we get so attached?  It makes it so hard to say good-bye.

Here's a first!  Elders Nicholls and Jensen had us over for lunch today.  They are very good cooks as we had a Persian meal of rice, pork, salad and water melon!  They were so kind to invite us and serve and spoil us.  They are a great companionship and we hate to see them split up, but it's all in the Lord's hands, of course.

This little princess, Paniyota, will also miss them!

Elder Jensen and Nicholls had a great idea to have these two converts, Terisita and AnnaLizel teach all four of us the Preach My Gospel lessons.  So fun!



We loved discovering the island of Cyprus with the Niebuhrs, pictured here on the Turkish side of Nicosia.

I promised Elder Christensen I wouldn't buy anything on this trip, but

I couldn't resist this nice little mime girl.  I asked her if she had ever heard of the Mormons?  She didn't even dignify my question with a blink!  Maybe I need a different approach.

 We visited a fascinating spot in Nicosia called the Freedom Monument, where Cypriot independence from British rule in 1959 is depicted. Atop the monument is "Lady Liberty" and statues of the suffering oppressed of Cyprus.  We were awe struck by the depth of character and suffering carefully chiseled into the faces of these statues.

1959

See what I mean?  I could almost feel this man's dispare as I gazed into his eyes.  Small wonder that this is the spot that was chosen by Elder Joseph B. Whirthlin to dedicate the island of Cyprus for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ back in 1991.

Just a few extra pictures here at the bottom.

Last days for these fine elders, Held, Greciano and Yates.

Cyprus Zone Leaders: Elders Gibbons and Yates.

Super sweet baby grand son, Leif Steven Christensen, on his daddy's chest.  This is Grant and Maren's first child so it is wonderful to get a few glimpses into his first month on earth, back in Tulsa Oklahoma! Even though it is hard to be so far away as four new grandchildren have been born, we know we are doing what the Lord would have us do at this time in our lives.  We love the Lord and WE LOVE OUR MISSION!


Of course a cat picture of the week from the internet!

                                        I believe the caption read: "Anybody lose a cat?"

Clay in the Potter's Hands

A mission has made us feel like the Lord is working in us, helping and blessing us.  More importantly, He is molding us into beings that we were incapable of becoming on your own in the comfort of our home and life back in Oklahoma.

We got a chance to go to Paphos, to a pottery shop and watch a potter mixing his clay

and carefully molding it into a pot.

It made us realize that we are not the only ones being molded by the Master Potter.

Here are Ruta, Godwin and their baby Beatrice.  It is so wonderful to teach this little family and see the Lord working in them and witnessing their conversion process.

These great elders in our district, Gibbons, Yates, Jensen and Nicholls, are also being molded.

We visited some ancient ruins with the other senior couples, The Tombs of the Kings in Paphos.

Sisters Smith, Niebuhr and me.  Yes, it was very hot!

Our good husbands, Elders Smith, Niebuhr and Christensen.

One of the many tombs under excavation on a very hot morning in Paphos.

By the water front area of Paphos.

Elders Jensen and Gibbons helping with the dishes after a Sunday dinner and discussion.

A nice bunch of Fillapino girls from the branch with a couple of non LDS made for a fun Sunday afternoon in our flat.

We took our district on a little Preparation Day activity to Cape Grecho in the southeast corner of Cyprus.

Zone Conference on July 5th helped mold these great Danes, Elders Held, Norgaard and Jensen.

Sisters Roberts, Almeida and Niebuhr.

Our new mission president, President Freestone, came to Cyprus!  He is in the center front.  Sadly Sister Freestone was ill that day.

Elders Niebuhr and Held

Nigerian students, Godwin, Destiny and Jolly in Famagusta, face lots of trials and molding so far from any branch of the Church in Northern Cyprus--Turkish occupied side.

A Turkish lady molding pita bread in the street.  It was delicious!

One of the sweet Fillapino girls that we get to help teach, Josie, with Elders Jensen and Nicholls.


And a cute little pair of Turk side cats finish up this post.  Our life is so full of varied and wonderful experiences. It is truly hard to get them all in, but we love our mission and are grateful everyday for the Lord's gentle molding hands in our lives here in Cyprus.  Thanks for reading!

Baptism in the Deep Blue Med Sea

Saturday June 16th was another red letter day for us as Dad got to baptize Frank, one of the two wonderful Nigerian students that went into the deep blue that day.

Frank is in the middle with (from left to right) Elders Yates, Gibbons, Neville, Dad and Ebi.

Here is Dad baptizing Frank as Elders Yates and Gibbons, our zone leaders, witness.  I missed getting the picture of Dad diving in the sea afterward, a thing he has always wanted to do, second only to actually baptizing in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

President and Sister Charles were there to witness the wonderful baptisms--and Dad breaking mission rules by swimming!  Even Senior Couples have that rule.  Too bad, but President was fairly good-natured about it.

We LOVE these wonderful converts!  Frank is actually from Camaroon, here on a futball scholarship.  He is only 17 so I got another seminary student!  Ebi is 32 and studying to get his MBA at the Inter College here in Larnaca, which attracts lots of Nigerian students.

Some of the sisters at the baptism, Sister Niebuhr, Antonia, Sister Kennedy and Lucy.

Rumianna Georgivi and her two daughters who are also my seminary girls, Kali and Eva.

Our three baptisms for June, Ebi, Frank and Victor.

Elder Neville taught these wonderful converts with Elder Wilderspin, but then they both got transferred.  Luckily Elder Neville got to come back to baptize Ebi, but Elder Wilderspin is far away in Athens.

Elder Gibbons approaches a beach goer that witnessed the baptisms just because he was sitting at that exact spot when it happened.

Another investigator ready to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Missionary work is amazing!

We love these beautiful converts, Antonia with Ebi and Frank.

We had our zone conference right there at our church right after the baptisms.

Elder Held holding up his well worn suit pants.  The picture doesn't show it very well, but the pant legs are totally bleached out and worn out from riding bikes and walking all over Cyprus and Greece.  These were a visual aid President Charles used to show how a great missionary wears out his life, as well as all his clothes, in the service of the Lord.

Elder Held leaves the middle of July for home, shown here with President Charles!

Great Danes!! All from the same stake in Denmark! Elders Jensen, Norgaard and Held.

Two more great elders, Nicholls and Yates, our district leader and zone leader.  We love these guys!

Elders Gibbons and Held.

The whole Cyprus Zone together.  This was President and Sister Charles last meeting with the Cyprus missionaries.  They leave for their beautiful England home in one week.  We will miss them greatly!

Sister Charles with the June birthdays, Radnoti and Nicholls.

WE LOVE ALL THE MISSIONARIES HERE!  WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE TO RUB SHOULDERS WITH THE VERY BEST, THE VERY BRIGHTEST YOUNG MEN THE LORD CAN FIND ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH TO WORK WITH US HERE IN CYPRUS!  WE WILL MISS OUR DEAR ELDER HELD PICTURED HERE WITH ELDER NORGAARD, TWO OF OUR FIRST MISSIONARIES TO GREET US AS WE CAME TO LARNACA.  YOU CAN EASILY SEE WHY WE LOVE OUR MISSION!


Mission cat of the week.  This looks like a black and white photo, but it isn't!