Time is moving quickly

I can't believe how quickly the time is moving along.  We leave in a few months and sometimes it seems that we just arrived.  There is so much more that we need and want to do but feel totally helpless at times.  Some of you have asked how life has been for my Russian friend Luydmila and I really have no great news.  I think her situation may never change and she is still struggling to keep her head above water.  She and her three children now live in a lovely house in a cute village but who knows how long they will be able to continue living there.  Finances are such that she can hardly get by.  She does get some help from the government but her permit to stay may by taken away at any moment, so even with the help of an advocate who helps her deal with all the paperwork and appointments she still can not see a light at the end of the tunnel. She is not able to find a job but has arranged to do some volunteer work several mornings a week. That will keep her mind off the situation at home and help her feel useful.

We have been pretty busy lately and putting a ton of kilometers on our little car.  At times I think we spend more time driving than visiting because of the long distances we need to travel.  Shell oil is really appreciating us I'm sure. The scenery of course makes the drive worth while and we will really miss that when we leave. It may sound silly but one of my favorite scenes is a herd of black and white cows in a beautiful green field with a windmill turning in the background.  Of course there are tons of canals, boats and bridges along the way and even waiting for an open bridge can be delightful.

The university will start next week so we should be seeing more Jo Vos at Family Home Evening and Institute.  Yes more cooking but that is fine.  Always room for more right? We even had a new fellow walk in last night.  The sisters had met him on the street and invited him but they really did not expect him to come. He heard the last two minutes of the lesson and enjoyed playing a game and visiting with the young ones there.  Hopefully he will return and be part of this crazy lovable group.

We had a fun day last Saturday at a Relief Society activity.  We asked everyone to bring their favorite hobby so we could  learn from each other and it was good to see even some of us "oldies" picking up and learning new things.  Amazing how talented some of the woman are who have been knitting their whole lives.  Two of them are knitting sweaters for children in Romania and you should see how fast those fingers and needles move.   Ben's mom and also my mother used to knit, watch T.V, talk and still bark out orders without even looking down or missing a word or slipping a stitch.  I have to have total silence and watching my hands the whole time to keep from making a mistake.  I probably could get faster in time but I really would rather paint so I will just have to let that talent "slip".

Our favorite hobby on Saturday was eating so of course we had a table full of goodies to give us the energy to work as well as visit.  A great day with good friends and it was fun to see our young  Missionary Sisters enjoying themselves also. These two are so upbeat and are a real joy to have in the branch.