Events to Remember

We have arrived safely home. But with all there was to do, we are only now getting around to sharing the highlights of the last weeks of our mission.  Motivation Romania and Special Olympics Romania joined in a friendly swim meet to which we were invited. It was held at a beautiful sports facility in Bucharest.

Relay teams were made up of a combination of both organizations.

MR's Cristian Ispas and a representative from Special Olympics welcomed everyone.

Then came the introduction of participants.

At the sound of the whistle, the first swimmers were off.

Philipe, a paraplegic, participates every year.

Lucian, one of the MR staff, gently assists this little Down Syndrome swimmer.

Without the use of his legs, this participant chooses to do the front crawl using his strong arms and shoulders. It's harder, but he makes better time.

All participants receive the same prizes, but the team with the best time is recognized.

Swimmers and volunteers all gather for a group shot.

We were invited to join them for a beautiful lunch to end a great event.

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A District Talent show was held at the Mihai Bravu chapel in Bucharest.

Elena and Florian are the emcees.

This combo performs professionally.

The old girl still gets asked to sing.

Violetta, a professor at the University of Bucharest performs beautifully.

Iulianna sings O Solo Mio

then her husband, Ion, performs a popular Romanian number.

Maria sings a lovely Romanian lullaby.

A talented young sister missionary performs a song from "Wicked".

Senior couple, McFadden's swing to "Save the Last Dance for Me"

The Fieraru brothers, Dani (violin) and Cristi (piano) amaze the audience.

Vlad rocks out  - he loves to perform.

The audience gets up and dances as the combo plays popular songs.

Marilena recites her poetry.

Magic tricks delight the crowd.

Panduri branch choir sings.

Vicky leads the wonderful Mihai Bravu branch choir in the finale.

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This is the rotunda of the beautiful Atheneum theatre in Bucharest.

Our friend, Violetta invited Elders Durand, Fonnesbeck and us to a concert here.  Performing was her professor, Constantin Ionescu-Vovu. With the Bucharest Philharmonic, he played Brahms Concerto No. 1.

Even before the concert began, we were impressed with the stunning decor of the theatre.

The murals that wrapped around the entire room depicted the history of Romania. Maestro Ionescu's performance was superb. We were grateful for such a wonderful experience.

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There is a Canadian flag in the mission which all Canadian missionaries sign.  We had been the keeper of the flag for the duration of our mission, but the day came when we passed it on to Elder and Sora Heninger (right) from Calgary. President and Sora Hill (middle) witnessed the event.