Occasıonally Senior couples have the opportunity to take a few days to site see around the mission area. We visited Cappadocia which is in the Anatolian Region of Turkey last week and saw some amazing things. The town formerly known as Ikonium became one of the greatest Christian communities of its time under the Apostle Paul and Barnabas.

People lived in these dwellings until Turkey and Greece made a trade of 1,500,000 Greeks for about 500,000 Turks in 1923. People lived in these dwellings carved into the mountains as recently as 1985 when they were condemned. What a site! We also visited the underground city in Derinkuyu near Cappadoccia where Hittite people lived to escape persecution of Roman and Bysantine invaders. Frescos are painted on the walls and some have been quite well preserved. This underground city extends 14 stories beneath the earth! We stayed in a Cave Hotel and literally slept in a cave that had electricity (barely), but the temperature was quite pleasant.  We also saw the Whirling Dervishes perform their type of meditation in which they twirl effortlessly for quite a long period of time. It was a beautiful site!  We hiked all over the area and had a great time! If you get a chance to visit this area, you will be amazed.

We’ve had some great experiences teaching the Gospel with the Missionaries. Their enthusiasm is so contagious! They are so well versed in the scriptures and they speak the language so well. These young men impress me so much. We traveled to Anakara for Zone Conference last week and stayed in the apartment where my sister Jean and her husband Wayne lived. It is so much fun to meet people who know my family and think so much of them. We learned some wonderful things that helped put things in perspective regarding where our priorities in life should be. I left with such a great feeling of peace and purpose for which I am extremely grateful.

Our language tutor’s name is Ilkar. He is a good teacher and is “holding our feet to the fire”! We are learning so much so quickly which is good.  Now if we could just remember what we are learning that would be great!

We love hearing from home and how things are going. We receive new letters from our old ward in Bountiful and from our Woodland Hills Ward, so we feel kept somewhat up to date on our friends. Keep them coming and any other emails with updates. We love to hear from all of you!