Budapest and Runkel - a Study in Contrasts

Remember to look for Nancy's weekly email for more detail and better writing.  Scroll past this text to get to the pictures.

What a simply wonderful week.  A lot is going on back home with each of the kids and grandkids and we love watching them live their lives and hearing from them.  We have letters from many of the grandkids posted on the fridge and other areas in the apartment and office.  We are so happy to have each of them in our lives. 

Last week we went to Hungary to be part of a Young Single Adult conference which was amazing.  There were about 170 YSA from several different countries.  It was fun to see them all interact with each other and have a great time.  We had a display table with information about how to get a better job, education opportunities, emotional resilience information, and other info about the courses that self-reliance offers.  We talked to a lot of YSA and they were all very engaging.  We had 30 from Ukraine and 27 from Albania.  These seemed to be the biggest numbers, but there were also people from Hungary, Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Germany and other places.  

We were able to visit with and do a little training of a new couple, Elder and Sister Briscoe, who just recently began serving in Romania and came to the conference too.  He was an executive at Ford and is very sharp.  They are from Michigan.  Their area manager, Matt, also came.  We all stayed in the same hotel and enjoyed meals together at the beginning and end of each day.  They were great company.

After the conference, We dropped some people off at the airport in Budapest, then continued on to a place called Gyor in Hungary.  This is where the JustServe Country Specialists for Hungary live and we wanted to visit them and take them to dinner.  They are very young, and it was fun to visit with them.  After we talked about JustServe, they gave us a walking tour around town, and then we went to dinner.  The restaurant was on a permanently anchored boat on the Danube river.  They had always wanted to go there, but had never been able to. So, we were glad to take them.  It was a magical night.

The next day, we drove back to Budapest to visit with Elder and Sister Bordman who are humanitarian missionaries.  We took them to lunch and talked about some of the projects they are involved with.  One is supplying a school of Ukrainian students with desks, books, and other supplies to help with their education in this new country.  It is a good project and a good use of church humanitarian funds.  They knew Budapest very well and showed us around.  

Interestingly, we did not know it, but Bart and Natalie were also in Budapest on the same day.  We probably walked right past each other.  That's too bad we didn't get to see them, but it's okay because we are going to Prague this week to see them.

Yesterday, we were a bit tired of hoards of tourists, so we used our 9 euro train tickets and road the train to a low key place named Runkel.  It had a cute little castle and no crowds.  I love riding the trains.  We went with Elder and Sister Watson from Middleton, Idaho.  

Here are some pictures:

Nancy and Renee Watson at the Runkel Castle

The Young Adult Conference in Hungary

In Budapest with Elder and Sister Bordman (Humanitarian Missionaries)

The Runkel bridge and Castle

Display table at the Young Adult Conference in Hungary.  Nancy, Matt Mathias, and Elder and Sister Briscoe man the table.  Some awesome Young Adults from different countries.

Budapest at the square with "flower" gelato.

Overlooking Budapest

Back at the Venue of the Young Adult Conference

Relaxing Runkel

Budapest with President Reagan and the parliament in the background.

Brother and Sister Bartfai.  The JustServe country specialists for Hungary.  We went to Gyor, Hungary to visit them.

Does she look happy or what?  We went twice in one day for this gelato.

Parliament in Budapest

"Shoes on the Danube" a sobering memorial

Young Adults at the Conference

Budapest 
Church in Budapest with Elder and Sister Bordman


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