Izmir!

We just returned from Izmir. What a great city! We are more excited than ever to move there. We had dinner with the Mayor and the Imam last night. What an interesting experience! The mayor has only been in office 3 years but has made great strides toward helping the people to move forward in their lives. He is really in touch with the disabled and has put many services in place for them as well as the poor and needy. We feel like we are specially suited to the work because of our knowledge in handicapping conditions and their unique needs. We have met some people who are truly Christ Like although, Muslim! It is truly an eye opener for me! We visited with a woman who has converted herself by researching the church on the internet. She got a Book of Mormon from the couple that have been there but only after her conversion. It is amazing to see how much she has been able to learn! She loves the emphasis on family that we have and pretty much all of it. She has to wait 31/3 years to be baptized because she is a school teacher and will be fired if she is Christian. She is only 40 but can retire then. She says the date is July 1, 2016! Then she wants to go to Utah to learn more and go on a mission. She is single, so no reason why she can't. Amazing! Lots of stories already but too long to go into. The thing we will miss the most here is the Branch that actually have men, women, youth and children who all show up on a regular basis :-) We will especially miss the Youth. It is so fun to watch Fred work with the YM! They LOVE HIM! One boy (17) is a true intellectual and he really has fun with the challenges Fred always gives him and the friendly intellectual banter. Another (15) is here while his Dad works as an expat with Microsoft. He told his Dad he wants to stay here another year so he can be with Elder Weaver. The third (16) was apparently having trouble wanting to be in Church before we got here and now his parents report that he "won't miss Church". It is so fun to watch the interaction! The 2 girls are just 12 and 13. They are just sweet yet spunky! They have a list a mile long of things they want me to teach them, both spiritual and fun things. They are really going to town on their Personal Progress and I have convinced their mothers to work on it too. It is great to see Fred blossom into his full spiritual self. I can feel the spirit literally put words into his mouth! I've seen tears in people's eyes and a quiet reverence fall over the room when he is speaking. Both in meetings with potential partnering organizations and in Church. He is a great man and I love him so much. Izmir, here we come!