I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

We made 75 Christmas cards for a nursing home next door.  We thought it was a great idea when we began and we had some pretty cool looking cards because there are artists among us but we all got pretty tired after trying to be creative but in bulk.  We were happy when it was all done and the cards were delivered.   This is our chapel/ all purpose room.  It is within 25 min. walking distance of our apartment. 

Merry Christensen ...I had to correct a few cards because that is what I wrote!

We walked home on Christmas Eve from having dinner with the missionaries. 

One part of walking home goes through a single dwelling neighborhood on a narrow, dark street. This picture is an after thought as I missed a great opportunity to snap a picture of Santa ringing her bell outside the gate of one of the houses.  We quietly walked by as we heard the door open and sounds of surprise came out of the house.  It was a grandma Santa with a pack of presents slung over her back.  

Earlier in the day we saw carolers (youth) with musical triangles.  They ring the triangle and sing a carol to people out and people at doors and then wait until you give them money or candy.  They wear Santa hats or reindeer headbands, etc.  That's all I know....and that you had better have money on you come Dec. 31st when they do it again. 

Church up the Hill 

The bells are the best on Christmas.  They ring throughout the day.  They sound beautiful. 

I wish we would go to church on Christmas every year and not just when it lands on Sunday.  It was a quiet day for us and we had a lovely evening with our branch president's family and friends.  Their family put on a Christmas recital.  That was awesome. That is Christmas to me. We got to visit with most of our family on Zoom that night .  That is amazing to me.  It is so nice to see their faces and their excitement for all the surprises of the day.  

The day after Christmas we visited a friend that lives near the seashore in Porta Rafi.  It takes about 1/2 hour from Athens to get to the water.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking along the shore and enjoying the sunshine.  I was surprised to see people swimming.  The water was so blue and clear. 

We got Christmas cards yesterday.  Two were from my Relief Society sisters from home, who sent me notes of love and encouragement. It made me very happy.   I didn't know if mail would really make it to us. Christmas was very different this year.  I knew it would be.  We didn't plan on our mission being a vacation and it isn't.   It is work.  Mental and spiritual.  A lot of self talk.  A lot of self evaluation.  A lot of chocolate to see me through the hard stuff.  

 I didn't even miss the snow.  It was a great Christmas because I knew I was where I was supposed to be.  Joyeux Noel.  I don't know Merry Christmas in Greek yet.....next Christmas. 

 

Humanitarian Mission

 

This is us out walking early in the morning for exercise.  We go before the traffic gets crazy. 
We have been asked what a Humanitarian Missionary is.  We didn't know what they did when we put in our mission papers and did not check the box as one of our choices.  Who wants to learn new things when you feel like you are retired and ready to share your vast accumulation of knowledge?  

Each country and assignment has different responsibilities depending on what the needs are.  Not all Humanitarian missions are created equally.  We correspond with the Humanitarian missionaries we learned with in the MTC and our missions are different.  Our friends in Jordan have been involved in goats and bees.  Our friends in Zimbabwe have had school and water projects.  We are part of the Central Europe Office and most of the countries in our area are involved with the refugees.  We don't work directly with refugees but with the Non Government Organizations that are trying to meet the needs of the refugees.  

We belong to the Adriatic South Mission.  There are 5 countries in our mission: Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Cyprus and Albania where the mission home is located.  We have 3 main languages in our mission which are Albanian, Greek and English.  We did not study Greek before we came and are definitely found wanting.  Our mission leaders travel a lot.  

Last night we were in downtown Athens handing out cookies that had our Light the World invitations. 

Greek Cookies 

I don't remember what they were called but they are a solid ring that have cinnamon in them. The other kind was a biscotti with cranberries. They were very yummy.  We were mostly support while the young missionaries separated with bags filled with the cookies.  We have all had to leave our comfort zones as missionaries.  

As this year comes to an end, I am grateful that I have such a good companion.  I am grateful that visiting family online is so much easier than when my kids were missionaries.  I am grateful to be learning so much about the world and the way people meet challenges and make a difference for good. I am grateful to know more now than ever that Christ is the answer to our challenges and blessings.   I know that just being a good smiler to everyone contributes to world peace. 

Merry Christmas and May You Count Your Blessings

Lycabettus Hill

Mount Lycabettus pronounced [likaviˈtos]), is a Cretaceous limestone hill in the Greek capital Athens. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, its summit is the highest point in Central Athens and pine trees cover its base. The name also refers to the residential neighbourhood immediately below the east of the hill.

The hill is a tourist destination and can be ascended by the Lycabettus Funicular, a funicular railway which climbs the hill from a lower terminus at Kolonaki . At its two peaks are the 19th century Chapel of St. George, a theatre, and a restaurant.

Lycabettus appears in various legends. Popular stories suggest it was once the refuge of wolves, (lycos in Greek), which is possibly the origin of its name (means "the one [the hill] that is walked by wolves"). 

Mythologically, Lycabettus is credited to Athena, who created it when she dropped a limestone mountain she had been carrying from the Pallene peninsula for the construction of the Acropolis after the box holding Erichthonius was opened.

The pictures are in reverse.  This is when we got to the top. 

The tube if you don't want to walk. 

The beginning

It was a fun, short adventure before getting back to working on projects and bills.  It was a perfect day and we were sweating when we got to the top.  That is pretty cool for December. 

We hope to discover more treasures as we live here in Athens.  We might even learn to say more than good morning, sorry, thank you and Yassas!  ( hello).  

That evening we had our branch Christmas party.  We first had a program because some people think that if we ate first , then people would leave but no one left during the program.  Pretty smart.  We sang lots of carols and the primary was definitely the highlight.  They sang in Greek and English.  Smart kids. 

We have wonderful sisters that cook the best food and Brother Neel brought the yummiest curry ( it was very green and lumpy so we weren't sure until we tried it).  I was too busy to take a picture but it was not anything like what we get in our ward Christmas parties in Utah.  We had Filipino and Chinese food and I brought a taco salad.   

It was a great day in Athens.  It was a reminder that no matter where we are, the church is the same.  We spoke the next day in Sacrament meeting.  We talked about the characteristics of Christ.  Kim ran off our talks in English and Greek and gave them to the young missionaries that were translating into ear pieces in the back.  That was awesome.  We didn't have to pause and wait for someone to translate.  Which I don't mind.  It was just nice.

  I was reminded of covid Christmas where I painted the names of Christ and put them around the house.  It made our Christmas more focused and sacred. 

Names of Christ

I am grateful that Christmas comes every year and that we are blessed to know of our Redeemer and Savior.  2022 has been a very different year for me.  It hasn't been easy.  I have to remind myself that being stretched is a good thing. Merry Christmas to us all this week!  May your days be merry and bright.  We have a brand new sister missionary here from Denmark and she is always smiling.  She said  that she choses to be happy every day.  I love that.  

Christmas Happenings

Tonight we walked to the park and Kim shed his jacket it was so warm.  I'm not gonna lie.  I don't miss the snow.  When I was a young child, we moved from Utah to California.  I remember praying it would snow for Christmas.  Those days are gone. 

Ice Skating Rink

We were surprised when we saw that there was an ice skating rink at the park.  They are wearing jackets because they are Greek and they don't know what cold is. 

Christmas Activities

We enjoyed walking around the park and seeing things being set up.  The Greek don't open presents until the 7th of Jan. so they are just beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  There is a trampoline park, a Flintstone train and darling decorations. 

Today we had some very wonderful visitors.  Usually we go downtown Athens to meet with NGO's.  When we went to Lesvos, we met someone that was a dentist and quit to help the refugees. He wanted to visit with our friend from Cameroon that was a refugee before they formed their NGO.  He fled from Africa when war broke out.  He was a business student at the university.  Now they try to help at a refugee camp and in Athens.  I have been so impressed.  They are wonderful.  I fixed pizza with bacon for them, forgetting that they are Muslim and don't eat pork.   They were very gracious. They ate salad. I can't tell you how good they are. 

I don't know if I should post their pictures because I didn't ask them.  Sorry. 

Here is a very interesting Christmas light display that always makes me laugh. 

It was our  Athens mission Christmas party and we were so excited to have our mission leaders with us.  

We did an activity that was really nice for Christmas.  We were in groups and given one person/ group to look up in the scriptures and learn about.  Sister Burdon started with Mary and had numbers that she held up for us to guess how the number related to Mary such as 12 was the age she was when betroved.  We had the shepherds.  There was Simon and Anna and Elizabeth.  

In the pictures, the missionaries were cutting flour as close to the coin without it falling into the flour and the dice game with candy bar.  I have struggled with making dinner for anyone and am very grateful that Sister Reidhead is happy to plan and organize.  Just like putting bacon on a pizza. 

We had a meeting downtown Athens.  It was bright and beautiful...almost as nice as temple square but not really.  I'm not gonna lie.  We decorated our balcony with blue lights just like at home.  Lastly, we got new missionaries in Greece! This is their first metro ride.  We are still praying for our Macedonia missionaries to have their visas come through.  The new missionaries are so good with Greek and come from France, Finland, Netherlands, England, United States and beloved Pleasant Grove in Ootah.  That is how they say it in Greek. 

What would you order if you were here? 

Look at the grin on Kim.  These are three very good men. We are blessed to know their stories and feel their goodness. 

"To be a follower of Jesus Christ, one must sometimes carry a burden and go where sacrifice is required and suffering is inevitable."  Elder Holland
 

Thanksgiving and Mission Conference and Tour

President Burdon fishing

Our missionaries from Cyprus and Thessaloniki flew to Athens to attend the Greece Conference. We have Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Cyprus in our mission.  Our mission leaders and missionaries do a lot of flying.  A lot!   It was a great day of instruction, inspiration and reminders of safe driving. 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Greece and so it was business as usual except that we gathered that evening to eat turkey, courtesy of our branch president's family!  Each missionary brought something to add to the feast.  We were impressed with homemade rolls, cinnamon rolls and pie.  We also had sweet potatoes, pasta and green salad, hard boiled eggs, veggies with dip, and mashed potatoes.  We talked about what we were thankful for and challenges that had blessed us.  The missionaries did a service project earlier in the day and cleaned up a children's corner complete with a Christmas tree. 

Then it was Mission Conference with Elder and Sister Alliaud.  It was inspiring.  The senior missionaries were in charge of snacks.  It was a nice way to serve the younger missionaries. 

We have been so blessed to serve with these wonderful missionaries.  They are amazing.  They are fearless.  They know so many languages  and are from all over the world.  They are creative with ways to engage others in conversation and watch over our branch members that are spread over many distances. They share strong testimony of Christ.  It is such a blessing to know and love them!

 

Samos

 

This is the airport in the small island of Samos.  It is a Greek Island west of Turkey in the Aegean sea.  It is the smallest airport I have been to and we had turbulence.  I was very grateful when we landed.  We were blessed with a wonderful friend from Athens  picking us up and taking us to see many places on the island.  The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed two days of meeting people that are working hard to help the refugees and enjoying the island.  

We drove to the refugee camp near a small village of Karlovasi.  

Refugee camp with pods, air conditioning, heat, and water 

We weren't able to go inside but we had a good view from above.  There was a lot of security and little movement that we could see.  

It isn't the best picture but this is the former refugee camp when the migration began.  It was built on the hillside with pallets, tarps and anything that the refugees could find to build a shelter.  

Former Refugee camp

It is hard to imagine all the refugees living here, trying to stay warm in the winter and shielded from the sun in the hot summers.  The camp spread out over the mountain side.  The new camp is enclosed and has the look of a prison but the conditions are much better.  It is a complicated issue of what is best to do.  

Guest House

Those lovely lady opened her guest house to us.  She did not speak English and unfortunately, we do not speak Greek ....yet.   When the island was experiencing the influx of immigrants, she opened her house to them and took care of them.  She is delightful and very talented.  She has created many works of art with her crochet and sewing needles. 

If you look closely you can see the beautiful balls that she crocheted. 

Earthquake of 2020

Samos experienced an earthquake that triggered a tsunami.  There was evidence of churches and buildings that had shifted and cracked and were still not being used.  Look closely and you will see some cracks. 

6th Century Ancient Greek Sculpture in the Archaeological Museum of Samos

A Center for Learning Skills

They had sewing, woodworking, bike repair classes and more. 

Beautiful Samos

We learned a lot about Samos, it's history and people.  We were able to meet NGOs
and see projects to help the displaced.  We enjoyed hiking, eating, visiting and connecting on the beautiful island of Samos.