25 December 2017 - Week 38

At Selgros, the store where we prefer to shop, we bought a package of 20 eggs.  Of the 20 eggs only three were NOT double yolks.  It was a party every time we broke an egg open.  The Elders paid us a surprise visit and I was making a treat to take to the Branch dinner. Elder Wilstead had never seen a double yolk egg, so I gave him the honor of breaking the egg.  Sure enough, it was another double yolk.  Romanians call the yolk - gălbenuș de ou. Galben means the color yellow.

The Arad Branch met on Tuesday evening for our Christmas activity.  We purchased groceries on Monday and had them in the church ready to go.  Brother Beanantean and his wife came on Tuesday morning to begin the making of the traditional Christmas Sarmale.  Cabbage leaves wrapped around ground pork and rice.  

We ended up with two large pots full of traditional Romanian cabbage rolls and they even made some stuffed with mushrooms for our vegetarian, Brother Moldovan.

The Branch members really enjoyed getting together, reading scriptures, singing Christmas hymns, pondering on the birth of the Savior, and eating the traditional meal which consisted of sarmale, bread, and desserts.  Topped off with some favorite sodas.

We had 26 including the missionaries and an investigator attend.

Now we wait for Craciun Ferecit. . . .  6 more days. 

We are still walking in the woods even in December.  We have had some rainy and snowy days, but over all the temperatures are above freezing.  The roads are bare with an occasional little snow and ice, but not enough to make walking impossible.  The frost made everything look so beautiful I had to share some pictures.

There are a group of dogs at the end of our walk.  We don't see them every day, but this day they were all out on the road and were very friendly.  We are not sure if they belong to someone or if they are homeless.  There are lots of homeless dogs everywhere in Romania.

The Elders, Gore and Wilstead, received their death call(going home) on Friday.  They will leave Arad on February 24.  We have very much appreciated their love and support as we have worked together in this city. 

We had a few errands to take care of in centru.  We parked on the main street close to this beautiful old door I have been admiring so I snapped a couple of photos.

On Christmas Eve we invited the Elders and Sisters over for a little Christmas dinner.  They brought pies, potatoes, and sarmale.  We made ham, dressing, gravy, yams, and rolls.  We had a good time and they did the dishes!

Craciun ferecit - tomorrow is Christmas day and it will all be over for another year!