When Mary Safsten, music director in the Bellingham Washington Stake, was asked if the stake would sponsor the Epitok Szalmas Chorus of Budapest, Hungary, she didn't realize how rewarding the experience would be for two dozen LDS familes.
Stake leaders accepted the invitation, considering it a chance to bring high-quality music to the city and acquaint 50 Hungarian singers with the Church. Chorus members stayed in members' homes, and Sister Safsten reserved, at no charge, the 1,000-seat Western Washington University auditorium for a concert.When the Hungarians arrived, stake members treated them to a pot luck dinner at the stake center. On July 12, the university's largest summer audience ever turned out for the concert. When the singers said goodbye to host families, there was a great outpouring of affection.