GLORIOUS GREECE

Elder and Sister Sutterfield have arrived! They are the Nelsons replacements who went home on the first of August. Since then, we have been juggling humanitarian projects in 9 countries. We are grateful to be able to turn project management for Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania over to them. It has been such a blessing to get to know the field couples and NGO’s in these countries. This has certainly enriched our mission experience. We will be training the Sutterfields for the next few weeks. As part of that training we went with them to Athens for three days to meet with NGO’s and trusted vendors. Athens is decorated for Christmas!

Ithaca Laundry has a mobile laundry unit for the homeless. They travel to a different part of Athens each day of the week to provide this much-needed service. Washers on the side, dryers in the back of the truck. A social worker is on hand to help connect them to needed services. We made a follow-up visit to check on the truck the church donated last year. The project also included salaries for two homeless men to be trained to provide the laundry service.

Global Connect offers immigrants the support they need to complete the equivalent of a GED. We visited during an English class conducted by a teacher in Logan Utah. We spoke with four beneficiaries who have completed the courses offered by this NGO and are now enrolled in university classes and/or gainfully employed.

INTERSOS provides support to refugees and asylum seekers, focusing on health and integration to help them achieve self-reliance and promotes peaceful coexistence with host communities. We discussed a 2026 project for donations of food and psychological support.

A Drop in the Ocean (Drapen i Havet) is the NGO we met in September. Since, we have had three projects approved with them: one on the island of Lesvos for continued WASH support, one on the island of Crete for a NFI (non-food items) storehouse, and one on mainland Greece mapping the WASH needs in refugee camps throughout the country.

We had dinner with Elder and Sister Ramseyer who helped us with the deliveries of three emergency projects in Greece. Our infield couple, Elder and Sister Palmer have not obtained visas yet, so this MLS couple pitched in to help us with humanitarian projects. They flew to the island of Chios to meet the deliveries of generators, water, TP and animal feed after the devastating August fires.

We also met with Manolis, our right-hand man in Greece who helps us with our projects when we deal with government officials.

Christmas Cheer

Before and after our trip we enjoyed several Christmas activities. Our area presidency hosted a devotional and lunch for all the employees and missionaries that work in the area office. Our office is decorated so beautifully!

Coraline and Celia tease me about putting my nose on their window when I need something. I seriously am in their office several times a day. We affectionately call them the “C’s”.

The area presidency’s wives hosted a luncheon for all the senior sisters. Sisters Alliaud, Gerrard, and McConkie are amazing women. It was a lovely afternoon. We ate, exchanged gifts, and sang Christmas carols.

We met Elder Colin Hawkes for lunch in Frankfurt one afternoon. We know Colin from our mission in Chile. His father worked at the embassy there and Colin helped us at the office during the summer with computer refurbishing and sorting school kit supplies. He is serving in the new Europe Central Turkic and Persian speaking mission. Right now, he and his companion are living a few hours outside of Frankfurt but were in town for a zone conference. They teach Persian speakers living here in Germany. Colin is a remarkable young man. We were so happy to reconnect. As we walked through the Frankfurt Christmas Market we ran into the rest of the district and all enjoyed some kinder punch.