“At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” ― Denzel Washington.
Slovakia fact of the week . . . The tallest wooden altar in the world, at almost 62 feet, is the altar of St. Jakub carved by Master Pavol of the town of Levoča. The altar was made from 1507-1517 and is made of lime wood. The altar is of extraordinary high artistic value.
I will begin this post with a photo that I do not quite understand. I turn my back for a minute and this happens. For some reason Kelly, Elder Waisath, and Elder Aronsohn made headbands of traditional Slovakian kroy and felt the need to pose and take a photo. One things is certain, if you are a missionary who serves in the 'East' as we call it, Kelly is going to make sure you are well taken care of and well fed, and apparently well photographed.
This will be a very busy next 10 days for us as we make our last trip of the year, and our final trip to Poland. I am on my way to Bratislava by train as I have been asked to speak to the branch of our church in that city on Sunday. I will then meet Kelly in Brno, in the Czech Republic, for a mission conference. Kelly has volunteered to coordinate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 90 people. The other senior missionary sisters will be assisting in the effort. We will then travel to Krakow to meet the new mission couple who will take over humanitarian duties in Poland.
Going, going, and almost gone . . . .
Our mission is quickly coming to an end, and as you can imagine, we have mixed emotions. We have missed our family so much and could not be more excited to return to Colorado. We are also going to miss the many friends we have made and serving as humanitarian missionaries on a full time basis.
This has been a once in a lifetime experience and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for blessing us with such a wonderful mission. Our time in Slovakia and Poland has been life changing, for the better, in so many ways.
What is going to make returning home much easier is that two outstanding couples have been called to replace us. One couple is already in-country with the other arriving in a few short months.
David and Lisa Jackson are from the city of Glendora in Southern California. They have five children and 18 1/2 grandchildren, one is due to arrive in February. They own two construction companies with David's brother and sister-in-law. The Jacksons have arrived in Poland and will be living in Warsaw. As you can see, they left behind a large family and many grandchildren to serve the less fortunate in Poland.
Rod and Marilyn Anderson are from South Jordan, Utah and will be arriving in Slovakia in February. They raised four daughters and have 11 grandchildren. Rod worked in healthcare administration for most of his career while Marilyn owned her own preschool for 30 years. We have had a number of video calls with Rod and Marilyn and have been so impressed with their energy and commitment to serve. Like the Jacksons, they will leave a sizeable family to bless the lives of those in need in Slovakia.
We look forward to hearing about the wonderful work these two couples will do in Slovakia and Poland.
Project updates for the week . . . . .
Project #1: We continue to be impressed with Roman Rybar's commitment to support his Roma community. Winter is approaching and many Roma use wood to heat their homes, with some using wood to cook. As he did last year, our good friend Joseph Molnar used his contacts to arrange for a large quantity of logs to be delivered to Roman's village. We can get a much larger amount of wood for a reduced price if it is delivered as logs and cut into firewood by the community.
