Jake’s first assignment is in Geneva, Ohio. The group he arrived with from the MTC traveled to Kirtland on their second day for a tour with the mission president and his wife. The first photo is the group in front of the Newel K. Whitney store. Jake is the second from the right. The second photo is of downtown Geneva.

My son’s on a two year mission for the LDS Church in the Ohio Cleveland Mission.

Jake left in September 2009 to start two years of service as a Mormon Missionary in the Ohio Cleveland Mission. He spent a little less than three weeks in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah and then flew to Cleveland. His first assignment was to the Perry area in the Kirtland Zone.

We think that is pretty cool. In the early history of the Church, many of the Saints had to leave their land and property in Kirtland. Hyrum Smith said, “yet your children may possess them, but not until many years shall pass away . . . Thus saith the Lord, . . . and then I will send forth and build up Kirtland, and it shall be polished and refined according to my word.” (Church History 4:443-444)

Jake is a direct descendant of the early Saints that lived in Kirtland. Now he has returned to help build up the Church in the Kirtland area. I’m pretty sure he isn’t there to “re-possess” any land. He is too big of a Cubs and Eagles fan to want to live in Ohio. I don’t think even a two year mission can change that.

A quick visit to Vienna, Austria was made during my recent visit to our Timisoara, Romania office. After a visit to Budapest, a short two hour drive was made to Vienna, Austria. After spending just one day of sight-seeing in Vienna, the drive back to Timisoara took a little over 5 hours. It’s difficult for me to get used to the idea that for the programmers that work on my team in Romania, driving to places like Vienna, Austria for the weekend is like driving to Boise, Idaho from Salt Lake City, Utah for me. Team members in the Romania office routinely take their summer vacations (what they call holidays) in Greece, Italy, Germany or Austria. They talk about going to other European countries as casually as we talk about going to other States. It’s all about where you live. [Sep 08]

My wife, Claire, was able to come with me on my September trip to the Timisoara, Romania office. With her with me, we went to Budapest, Hungary (see the photo) and Vienna, Austria in addition to Timisoara. This was Claire’s first trip to Europe. With all the trips I’ve made to Romania, I still have enough frequent flyer miles that I should be able to bring her with me again. It sure makes the business trip more enjoyable and gets me out of the office more. I saw more sites on this trip than the previous seven combined. [Sep 08]

During my latest visit to our Timisoara, Romania office, I was able to take a weekend trip that included a day in Budapest, Hungary. With as many trips as I’ve made to Timisoara over the past three years, I wish I had made this short 3 hour drive earlier. Budapest has many sites to see and a lot of history to explore. With just one day, I was only able to walk around a small portion of the city. I stayed to the sides of the Danube river, walking on both sides of the river between three of the five bridges of the city. [Sep 08]

I have found proof that is golf near our Timisoara, Romania office! I had been told that the only place to golf in Romania was approximately six hours away in the town of Brasov, Romania. While being driven to Budapest, Hungary, I saw this sign in the first city across the Hungary border in Szeged. It is only about 60-90 minutes outside of Timisoara. My next trip to the Romania office will probably be during the Winter months, so I will have to wait until next Fall, but I have a new adventure to look forward to during my next visit to Timisoara. [Sep 08]

During a visit to our Guadalajara, Mexico office to interview potential Flash developers, I also “stepped forward” and joined a mariachi band. It only lasted a few minutes. They decided to move their performance inside after my little photo op. [Apr 07]

Main square in Timisoara, Romania. This picture was taken in June of 2005 during my first visit to Romania. I was sent to Timisoara to establish a programming office for my employer. Since then, I have returned to Timisoara eight times. In just three years, we have become a recognized technology employer in the area, competing with much larger international corporations, including Siemens and Alcatel.