SCM - Lovely Country

Hello Friends and Family, Sister Lindorf got to do the last update, so it's my turn.  You will get this from her email address because she maintains the lists. I wish I could capture in a picture how beautiful the countryside here is.   The evergreens have now been filled in by all the deciduous trees and the panorama of the rolling countryside of dense forest, punctuated by small farms and villages.  It's just too quaint to take it all in.  I can see why the Slovenes love living here.  Who would have thought?  They have successfully retained a rural feeling even in the larger towns.  The houses aren't 'wall to wall'.  There are many greenbelts and parks in the cities and the countryside is just breathtaking. You can't see it too well in this picture, but those are the Alps in the background, still covered in snow. Today we drove to Novo Mesto, about an hour from Ljubljana, to attend church in a branch with NO members - just missionaries and investigators.  It must have been what it was really like in the early church to open an area for the first time to proselyting.  What a great experience.  Our young missionaries are undaunted. We also went to Trieste, Italy a couple weeks ago to get our visas.  Here we are standing by the Adriatic Sea.  It was a cold day, but we enjoyed some real Italian pizza while we were there. We also received our first group of new missionaries.  President Hill took the group for a short walk from the mission home to a nearby grove for a spiritual retreat. Some of these missionaries are now in Serbia and Croatia, but we got to keep two of the Sisters  in Slovenia.  I love working with these young people who are so full of enthusiasm and testimony. We also had to say goodbye to 4 missionaries who have finished their missions and have now returned home to resume their studies.  How quickly we grow to love them! One of the local attractions in our neighborhood is a river that is very popular for kayaking.   This river is about 100 yards from our house, so we walk by it everyday.  The water has an unusual bright color from the mineral content. They have even created what I would call a 'terrain park' if it were snowboarding.  They have obstacles and stunts they have to complete in the water.  Here's a look at a few practicing. They actually have organized kayaking events here that are very well attended.  The Slovenes love being outdoors.  And now that the weather has warmed, there are bikers in greater numbers and hundreds that climb the mountain behind our house every day.  We're looking forward to a Saturday very soon when we can join them.  Then we'll show you some pictures from the top. I can't tell you how much we're enjoying being on a mission and serving in this lovely country.   We count every day a joy and a blessing.   Of course we miss our family and friends, but fortunately it's easy to keep in touch with technology.  We now have the internet installed at home so we're able to use our CA number for phone calls.  If you want to say hello, give us a call at 949-698-7476 most mornings (which is evening here).  We are nine hours ahead of PDT.  If we're not available, just leave a message and we'll get back to you.  Of course, we also love your email notes. We feel your love and support and appreciate all you do that allows us to be able to serve and to "lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better." (D & C 25:10) Elder Lindorf

SCM - Spring in Slovenia

Dear Family and Friends,  Spring has arrived in Ljubljana and we love it!  It is such a joy to walk to work without our coats and to open up our windows at home.  We hear that it gets very hot in the summer months (we have no AC), but for now, we'll take the sunshine…   It is the perfect introduction to Easter!  Tomorrow we will have been here for one 9-week cycle, which we call "transfers." Every nine weeks we send a group of 4 to 8 missionaries home, and the next day 4 to 8 missionaries arrive.  We arrived 9 weeks ago and now we've seen one complete cycle from beginning to end.  Since our job is to do all the processing that transpires during those 9 weeks, we feel like we've "seen it all" and are now seasoned and ready to run!  (This is our daily "picnic at the office" – sweet!)  Paul has done such a nice job keeping in touch with everybody and sending out updates!  As for me, I have felt like I've been drowning much of these past two months.  Even though we were "Office Couple" in Thailand also, I never realized how much help we had!  And since we have always tried to keep the young missionaries out of the office, rather than being tied up helping us (they learn the language fluently and that is priceless in sharing the Gospel with others), we are working in this office "solo." We love it!  Here is a picture of the two Elders who trained us.  Do you want to know why they're so happy?   This was taken on our LAST training session.  And now that we've gone through an entire transfer cycle, my nose is definitely above water and things are looking good.   I'm going to share a journal entry from a few days ago, to show one of the reasons I have been overwhelmed, and to show the Lord's miracles in His Work… We have a tree, of unknown origin, in our apartment that we fondly call "the tree of life." That symbol is not only found in the Book of Mormon, but it can be traced to cultures all over the globe.  As we hold fast to the Word of God, and look to our Redeemer for love, for life, and for daily breath, He will bring us to the tree of life!  Every day that we are privileged to consecrate all our time, our meager talents, and what energy we have to building the Lord's Kingdom on earth, He gives us the fruit of the tree of life.  This blessing is the sweetest and most cherished I have ever known! Happy Easter! All my love, Sister Lindorf