Love is in the Air- Rayco & Eva Wedding, Our Wedding Anniversary

Welcome to the Columbia Bay Resort, a lovely 5-Star hotel on beautiful Pissouri Bay, which is about a

1 1/2 hour drive from us in Larnaca.  We were invited to a lovely wedding there and had the privilege of participating in the marriage of Eva Georgieva and Rayco Reinhard.  Eva is the daughter of Mario and Rumi Georgiev.  Mario is our branch president and he extended the invitation.  We were honored.

Eva and Rayco were previously married in Abu Dhabi last August but no friends or family were able to attend, and they wanted a marriage celebration so everyone could join in.  Roland performed the "marriage" which was not a legal marriage but it was lovely theater all the same.  He provided some wise counsel and encouragement as they begin their lives together.  He did a lovely job and they were pleased. 

The grounds were beautifully manicured and it was magical in many respects.  Look at that background.

The groom and attendants await the brides arrival, as does Elder Kiddle.

The fairytale wedding didn't take long and smiles were in abundance.

Well we weren't the bride and groom but we took advantage of the backdrop.

The newlyweds with the seasoned lovebirds.

Beautiful landscapes at every turn.

So many lovely touches to a beautiful day.

My new German friends who were also enjoying the wedding festivities.

Mario and Rumi Georgiev, brides parents.

Every detail attended to.

It was quite the party.  There were about 65 guests.  They played a few fun games and it was determined that there were 12 countries represented amongst the guests.  Germany, Canary Islands (Spain) , Canada, United States, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bulgaria to name a few.

They are huge Star Wars fans.

Fun dancing music.

 

Not to be outdone by the newlyweds, we escaped for a couple of days to Kyrenia which is in Northern Cyprus to celebrate our 46th anniversary, staying at the Savoy Hotel. We had been in the area not long after we arrived but took more time to explore the area this week.  Once you cross the border there is a noticeable difference in many respects, culture, food, economics, language, etc. 

The grounds were lovely and we enjoyed the pool in the very warm weather.

Kyrenia Harbor

Girne Castle in the background.

46 years later we're still grateful to have each other to explore and enjoy the abundant blessings we do.

Canal views of Girne Castle

Another Mediterranean view.

Old ruins dot the neighborhood.

Pausing for a refreshing drink on a very warm day.

The Bellapais Abbey.

Botanically I don't know what these trees are but they are everywhere right now and are absolutely lovely.  There's not a lot of green foliage but the beautiful lavender flowers are gorgeous.

Bellapais Abbey - such a beautiful place.

Overlooking Kyrenia out to the Mediterranean.

And you encounter a number of mosques when you're in a Muslim country.

We returned to our car in Limassol the other day after it had been parked for a couple of hours.  102 F.  I'm convinced we're going to die here...........heat and humidity........yikes.

 I could claim any one of these young men.  They are such great guys.  They indulged me and visited a botanical garden on a Pday.  That is a sign of love for sure.

We are essentially half way through our service which is hard to believe.  We feel reasonably comfortable in finding our way around; there are still many things that are mysterious to us and that really don't make sense; we still find the drivers to be crazy and pray we can leave here without an accident.  But at the end of the day we remain grateful for this unique experience we are having that puts life into focus on a daily basis.  We've met some wonderful people who we've become attached to that have enriched our lives so much.  We remain grateful for the sweet opportunity it is to be in the Lord's service to those numbered in His fold here in Cyprus. 

Until next time we send our love,

Elder and Sister Kiddle