DK hits a home run!

 You would think the end of a mission would be a time when you could back off and slow down a tiny bit.  I think most missionaries don't actually do that, but for us, it has been a tremendously busy time.  We are closing down the apartment where we have been for the last year and more.  The church won't need it, because they are putting our replacement couple in Celje.  Closing it down included showing it to new prospective renters.  We also had quite a few things that were passed to us from prior senior missionaries.  We try not to accumulate things we don't need, but it is overwhelming how much stuff we are moving to Celje and how much more is going into our suitcases, of which there are more than we brought with.

We also were busy arranging for the new apartment in Celje.  It was used by the last mission doctor we had, about 2 years ago, and has been vacant since then.  The family who own it, have had it going back into the late 1800s.  They love renting it to the church, because we pay on time, and take care of everything.

This is a corner of one of the two living rooms in the new apartment.  That is amazing woodwork on the coffee table, with rare and expensive woods.  The lamp is about 100 years old and is ready to crumble at the slightest touch.  But behind it is one of the amazing, old tile fireplaces they have here.  There are three in the apartment.  This one is about 7 feet tall.  You can see the grate at the bottom.  They are designed so you only put a few small pieces of wood into them and when they get hot the tiles radiate heat.  And they are gorgeous.

All the furniture is old, but it was hand made to order by the family.  It is far larger than any other senior missionary apartment in the mission, but the price must be good, because once we pointed it out to the office, they jumped all over it, and got a contract right over to the owners.

The elders were talking about what to call this apartment.  They kind of settled on "The Celje Mansion", but Sister Ashurst is campaigning for "The Villa".

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We have been saying goodbye to the young missionaries as we see them for the past week.  But today we said goodbye to the members of the Maribor Branch.  Some of them drove for more than an hour to be there and hear what we had to say.  I spoke about 1st Corinthians 13, and how much I love all of them.  Sister Ashurst told them of a dream she had about thousands of Slovenes joining the church.

The best part of it all was that DK will be called as a counselor in the Branch Presidency.  He has wanted more responsibility from the beginning and finally it is coming to him.  He is ecstatic about it.  The current branch president is also very excited, because he is hoping to train up someone who can take over for him.  He has been branch president of a bout 15 years, needs a break.

We have a special relationship with DK.  We were there for his very first lesson by the missionaries.  I was privileged to be able to baptise him.  And we have had him in our home almost every week since we first met him.  Sometimes we just visit, but he usually has a question or two that lead to discussions about how the church works.  He is still eager to learn more.  I am sure we will have an ongoing friendship with home:  HERE WE COME!!