Thu 6/08/06 10:37 AM

Dear Family,
Can you remember that Roylene and I flew to Kosovo on 25th March and returned on the 26th March? Well we had our first baptism from there at YSA Conference. We were instructed to go there ( Kosovo ) and check things out by Elder Uchtdorf. We met a young man that had been waiting for 1 1/2 years to be baptized. I ask for permission upon our return but was told to wait. We received clearance just before going to the conference. It was an unforgetable experience. The conference ended up being attended by our mission only and we had about 35 youth there. It was great to see them bond with each other. Keep in mind that these countries were at war recently. It is living proof that the gospel can heal all. We need to just follow the Savior and accept His atonement. It can bless us now. We do not have to die for it to have affect in our lives. It can give us peace and heal us from the wounds we suffer at the hands of others. Yesterday, we had our landlord come by and he had a man with him that is a heart surgeon. I ask him if he knew the name Russell M. Nelson. He did not. So I opened the Ensign that Roylene had and we showed him a picture of the First Presidency and the Twelfh Apostles and the Seventy. He had been to the US a number of times. Even to Salt Lake briefly. He told us that he had not learned much about the church so we proceeded to tell him the difference basically between us and the Catholic church. We gave him alot of literature and the Book of Mormon in Slovene. He said he wanted to have us come to dinner in the future. Today we went to renew our Visas and they told us we needed a new pass port because the only page left without stamps can not be used to put the new Visa on. So we went to the US Embassy and got more pages put in our passport. Then back to the Slovene office. They could not believe that this could happen so fast. They all had to examine how the pages were added. We visited for some time and they were all pleasant. We thanked them for all of their help and for their smile as they helped us. They will look at Mormons with those badges differently in the future I am sure. It is fun to spread sunshine all along the way. This weekend we will be doing Branch Conference in Maribor with the Ferres. Well I have to go I have a Elder on the phone in tears. Wait until he gets married if he thinks a companion is hard to get along with. Love all of you. Thank you for the long emails. Love Dad