Halloween Buli

Here in Hungary, Halloween is not a traditional holiday. But as with all things American, the kids are really picking it up. And so we had a Halloween party at the branch and invited all of our English Class students and investigators and, of course, all of the members.

But getting ready for such an event is no small effort without a Pumpkin Walk committee to help. I made dozens of sugar cookies for people to decorate. They really liked this and everyone wanted to know how to make icing. I looked for cookie cutters but they don't use them here, so I settled for round cookies. We made chili for a small supper. Making chili for 50 in a kitchen too small for two is a neat trick. I would have given a lot for my big stew pot at home. Instead we used one small crock pot, two small pans and two large bowls.

These pictures really don't do justice to the mess that reigned in my tiny kitchen. There is just a tiny space to work on and nowhere to set anything down. But the good thing about little - it cleans up quickly!
Our church kitchen has only 2 cook units so warming up was a slow process!

We played Halloween bingo in one room. It took me two days to manufacture the bingo cards and they are now safely stored for next year.
Sorry about the quality of the picture, but you get the idea. I was amazed how much they liked this game. Most had never played it before.
We carved pumpkins. I hate carving pumpkins but they liked it a lot and all took home their pumpkin with a candle. This weekend is Day of the Dead, which amounts to Memorial Day and so the graveyards are full of candles. So they like the thought of a candle on their doorstep.
And here I am. The Wicked Witch of the East. They all liked my necklace which had little ghosts that twinkled on and off. The four elders dressed as the Madagascan penguins. They were a big hit.


But the great thing was that we had almost 50 people there and more were nonmembers than members. . A little bit of gospel was shared and a lot of friendship and friends of the church are awfully important for us here. It seemed to be a big hit. We have never had that many people in our building I am sure. And while I was playing the "witch" in one room, Elder Hintze was in the hall preaching the first discussion with everything that was in him. Somebody had asked about all the pictures on the wall and that was all the lead in he needed.