Elder and Sister Edwards



Ataturk's Museum.  The huge court yard is used
for special celebrations and festivals.

Monday, July 23, 2012 the Church Auditors came from Armenia to do an audit of the branch financial books and some training.  Their names are Elder (Carl) and Sister (Donna) Loveridge and they are orginially from Bountiful, Utah.  They are our age, and they speak English, so we become fast friends. 

Tuesday we all went to some points of interest in Ankara.  A must-see is Ataturk's museum.  Ataturk was the leader who won Turkey's independence from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900's.  This beautiful museum shows their love for him.  It beautifully displays many remembrances of him.


Elder and Sister Loveridge.  As I mentioned,
they are our age and are serving their third mission!

This soldier was standing right outside of the entrance into the museum; he stood so still I thought he was a manniquin.  We felt bad for him because of the very high temperature that day; he must have been roasting in his uniform. He didn’t blink an eye while we stood there and took pictures. 


Ataturk's tomb in the back.

Wednesday we went to the castle in Ankara (the same one we went to shortly after we arrived here) and walked to the top and bought some trinkets from the people selling their goods on the way up.  These women would call, “Madame, Madame, homemade, homemade.  One lira!”  I was surprised at Wayne; he picked out ear rings for our three daughters (piereced ones at that!!).  While at the top, we met a soccer team from the U.S.  They had been playing games with Europeon countries, and modestly admitted they had won all their games.  Of course. 

This mosque could be seen from the castle.

This is Turkey - mosques and apartment buildings.

 

Any food you could think of that can be dried was displayed

here in an area right before we headed up to the castle.
Somehow the Visa sign doesn't fit.

We then went to another museum that was a fabulous collection of everything from our age: airplanes, radios, bikes, canoes, clothes, records, record players, T.Vs. etc, etc.  (The bicycles with their pumper seats brought back vivid memories of Geri pumping me down town and to the swimming  pool years ago.)  Yes, we are old when things I grew up with are in a museum.  The museums here are wonderful, well-organized and beautifully displayed.  I am looking forward to visitors and we have an excuse to go again!   Come! 

We had lunch at Seda's boyfriend's restaurant.

He kept bringing us yummy things to try, and we keeping eating what he brought.

I need to practice the Turkish word, "Yeter" meaning, that's enough! 

Luckily, I couldn't remember it.

The Loveridges left Thursday morning to fly to Adana, Turkey on further assignment, and we left that afternoon to travel by bus to Kayseri to visit the Hagobiens.  They are a refugee family from Syria and are now living in Kayseri, Turkey about a five hour bus trip from Ankara.  We are their home teacher/visiting teachers as they are in our branch boundaries.  The ward boundaries here are not quite like they are in Utah.  In fact, our boundaries stretch all the way down to the Mediterranean Sea and as far East as the country boundaries go.

Sister Hagobian is on the left, their son, Bro. Hagobian,

and their new friend who is now interested in the Church.

When we entered their home, I was not prepared.  We have been Skyping these wonderful people each Sunday afternoon and everything from here looked normal enough. They are living in the humblest of circumstances and yet are thankful for everything they have and to be alive.  They seem hopeful, and happy,  and their home  had a feeling of heaven in it.  I learned so much from them. 

We have been trying to help them by going to the United Nations for Refugees here in Ankara, and hoping they can realize their hopes and dreams of coming to America and not having to live in fear, being productive again, using their talents and abilities they have been blessed with to earn their own living, and become self-reliant instead of sitting day after day waiting!