ONE MORE BUSY WEEK HAS COME AND GONE......

There were no "once in a life-time" tour to report about, but it has been another great week -  and a very busy one.  Once again, we have been gone every night and had commitments during most of the days.  Busy is good.

Sunday was our regular day at church.  What made this one special was listening to Lada, a member of about 6 weeks, present an amazing lesson to the Gospel Principles class.  It was on the Gathering of Israel, not an easy topic for seasoned teachers.  She was incredible. Her understanding of the gospel was evident in her presentation, but what was most special was the spirit we all felt as she taught. When we talked to her afterwards she said she had never felt the spirit direct her as it did during that lesson. She had to translate President Border's conversion story into Russian as he told it to the class in English. She said she had never translated before, yet she was able to do it. She is quickly learning what service in the gospel is all about.

Looking for winter boots was the job for Monday.  We went to the Metropolis mall but didn't have much success.  We did, though, have a yummy lunch.  Elder and Sister Hays had been wanting to try a Mexican restaurant that is located at that mall so we met them there that afternoon. We had a delightful lunch - not Mexican food as we know it in America, but very tasty.  We loved getting to know the Hayes a little better and sharing lunch with them. We decided we now have to try an American Steakhouse that we discovered a couple of days ago in our neighborhood.  We are all craving a good steak.

Later that night was family home evening in our home.  Again it was a fun evening and was good for the less active member who was there with our missionaries and some young single adults. He asked for a blessing at the end of the evening in which Paul participated. Refreshments were cookie pizzas....always a big hit.




Tuesday was our district meeting which, of course, means cooking lunch for the elders and sisters.  We love having them in our home and feeding them as much food as they can eat.  We served a rigatoni type dish along with Olive Garden salad and breadsticks.  It was a big hit. That evening we gave another English test to four more potential Pathway students.  We've now given the test to 11 people. Hopefully they will all apply and register.

The Texas sheet cake.  We knew we would

never eat it all so we took it to institute

the next night and gave it to all who were

there on time.  They loved the treat.

Wednesday morning we went to the apartment of Elders Marx and Bass.  We needed to do our quarterly apartment check.  As always, we took cookies.  They had a return treat for us....a Texas sheet cake.  They were involved in baking a couple of them for refreshments for English group that night and baked a small one for us.  So very thoughtful of them.  We have come to love these two like our very own sons....well maybe grandsons.  

At English group we discussed families and their importance.  One of the things the group looks forward to is Paul's idioms.  Each week he finds 5 or 6 idioms that go along with our discussion topic....ie: blood is thicker than water, bend over backwards, apple of my eye, bite your tongue.  The people eagerly write them all down so they can use them as they speak English. After the discussion and activity time, we had the assignment to do the story.  I told about our family reunion in Klammoth Falls, Oregon in 2012.  I told them about our Mission Impossible theme and some of the things we did throughout the week.  We talked about how the family learned to work together to complete many difficult tasks.  My conclusion was that at the end of the week we came to realize that, as long as we had each other, we could do anything and so we changed the theme to Mission Possible.  At the end of the story, the whole group started clapping.  I think they liked it.

Our Institute lesson, on Thursday, was on the talk by President Eyring entitled 'Come Unto Me.'  The premise was that Christ is always there for us.  All we need to do is knock or ask and he will be there for us.  We talked about prayer, scripture study, obedience and lifting the burdens of others as being things we could do to invite Christ to come closer to us. We included two videos, a song and many personal experiences to supplement the message. We felt it was an effective lesson.

We took these cookies to the YSA fireside and they got rave

reviews.  It must be the cream cheese frosting.

Friday was a day of baking for me as Paul worked on the computer learning about the home study seminary program.  The pumpkin puree I made last week needed to be used.  We now have, in our freezer, two pumpkin pies and two loaves of pumpkin bread.  On the counter, ready for a fireside on Sunday, are pumpkin cookies frosted with cream cheese frosting.  

Paul was studying about the home study seminary program because we had an appointment to meet Justin Sanders at 4 o'clock Friday afternoon.  He is the student from America to whom we will be teaching a seminary lesson once a week.  It is such a small world when we are a part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Justin, we found out, is from Rathdrum, Idaho.  His dad is Justin Sanders, son of Roger and Pam Sanders of Spokane.  His mother is the daughter of Mike and Alicia Matoon, also of Spokane.  We know both of his grandparents very well. He is over here studying with the Bolshoi Ballet academy. Quite an honor for a boy of 15. We are thrilled to be able to help him in his quest to study the Book of Mormon in seminary while he is here. We will meet him every Friday afternoon at 4 at our apartment to go over his assignments and teach him a lesson on some of the key points he will have studied.  It will be good to get in and study the Book of Mormon once again.

We can't imagine a water slide

in the middles of winter.  We have

to wait to see what this is.

Saturday morning Paul and I walked to the bank to pay a bill. Afterwards we decided to take a walk to get some donuts at Krispie Kremes. It's close to the Red Square and about a 15 minute walk, but we knew the exercise would be good. When we got to Red Square we were amazed at all the activity happening there.  It was obvious they were getting ready, not only for Christmas, but for some big event.  They were putting up a two story merry go round, what looked like a water slide, as well as an ice skating rink. They were also constructing some booth like structures.  Our curiosity got the better of us so when we got home we did some research.  Come to find out, they are preparing for the famed Strasbourg Christmas Market to come to the Red Square.  We found out this is a 500 year old market usually held in France and is the most famous of all European Christmas markets.  It will be here December 24 to the 7th of January.  We'll visit it for sure.  

Our walk took longer than expected.  We had to walk through the Goom department store because of construction outside. We were glad we did as they have decorated for Christmas. It was extravagantly done.  Of course, we had to stop and take many pictures.  

 These manikins, dressed in period clothing, were standing down the entire center of one of the aisles of the mall. As we walked along you could identify most of the decades the clothes represented.

How styles have changed over the years.

The very high end store

TSUM

We detoured to another department store called TSUM.  It is a four story store with very high priced items in it.  Even the grocery store in the basement had food items priced way higher than we would ever pay....about $3 for a can of Dr. Pepper and close to $20 for a bottle of barbecue sauce. We had heard about this store and thought that, as long as we were out and about, we would walk a few more blocks to see it.  Now that we've been there we have no need to go back, that's for sure.

Yes, we finally did get our donuts, but what was going to be a 30 minute walk turned into a 2 1/2 hour one.  Good exercise. 


Saturday night we boarded the metro to go down south to the University branch for a party. Nastia, our friend who was recently baptized, was performing a Tango and we wanted to support her.  It was a celebration of all the babushkas (grandmothers) in the ward.  They did a march down memory lane beginning with the launch of the Russian spaceship in the 60's.  They had songs from many of the decades including the Beatles. They also featured dances like the twist and the bunny hop. At the end, all the grandmothers paraded out to take a bow.  Such a fun party even though we didn't understand a word.  We were glad we had made the effort to go.

The two sister missionaries assigned to this branch ready to party

The branch president (in the brown jacket) and a Russian recording

artist from the branch singing a Beatles song.  It was the

only thing we understood all evening as they sang it in English.

Honoring all the grandmas

Nastia with her partner.  They danced well together.

She was so nervous as he is a professional dancer and she is not.

We had to take a picture with her, too.  She is one of our favorite people.

SPOTLIGHT OF LIFE IN RUSSIA

Without a belt these levis will slip

right off him

Our spotlight will feature Paul this week.  He has lost 20 pounds without even trying. He says it's because things don't taste the same here, but it's more from our crazy eating schedule.  We always have breakfast, but usually have a late lunch before we leave for the evening and maybe a snack of apples and cheese at night after we get home. We'll have to buy him new suits if he loses any more weight.

He is also our second spotlight.  It is getting colder and he has yet to wear a coat over his suit.  The other day we were walking home from our gathering and one of the students accused him of being a penguin.  People look at him awfully strange as he walks around in a suit jacket only.  We met our landlady by the metro the other day and she thought he was crazy not to have a coat on. He says he would rather be a little cold on the short walk to the metro than to roast while riding the metro or inside the buildings.  

Here in Russia, people bundle up according to the calendar rather than the weather. In October, before it was even very cold, they were wearing coats and scarves. We do wonder if their body thermometers are set differently than ours.  

Out walking Saturday, we came to realize that the wonderment of Christmas is universal. We saw these children, with their mother, looking at this Christmas window display.  They were probably anticipating the candy and presents that would be delivered to them on their Christmas eve by Grandfather Frost....the Russian's answer to Santa.

IT'S THANKSGIVING TIME AND WE ARE THANKFUL TO BE HERE

SERVING THIS MISSION.  IT IS SUCH A BLESSING IN OUR LIVES.

SENIOR COUPLES EXPERIENCE ONCE IN A LIFETIME TOUR OF KREMLIN PALACE

We have been waiting for several weeks for this once in a lifetime tour of the Kremlin Palace.  It finally came about on Monday. As a group of senior couples, we met at the metro station by the Red Square. We walked to the Kremlin and after going through security checks and showing our passports, we were allowed inside the Palace.  Most Russians have not seen inside this magnificent edifice as it is available by invitation only...unless someone can pull some strings.  Marina, in the mission office, was able to do just that.  Words cannot capture the opulence and beauty of the rooms inside this residence of past Russian leaders.  The living quarters of the Czars were incredible, complete with corridors off each room where the servants sat, waiting to be beckoned. We were able to see many gorgeous rooms where inaugurations and special ceremonies are held.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are a few of the pictures of what we saw. We were only able to take pictures of the first five rooms, but the pictures will give you a feel for the magnificence of the other rooms in the palace.

This first room almost took our breath away as we entered.  It is the throne room and is where heads of states are sworn into office. The throne sits under the symbol of the state of Russia. Above it is the all seeing eye of God.













These gold doors are engraved with the symbols of Russia...the cross and the star.








Connected through huge doors, this next room is done in golds and reds.  During the Soviet rule, this room was totally stripped of all its glory. It became the meeting place of the communist party leaders. It was restored to its original magnificence in 2000. 

The ceiling in this room

The floors in every room were done with beautifully inlaid woods imported from all over the world.  None of the woods were dyed and came from as many as 42 different types of wood to create the intricate designs.

The third room was the military room.  Done in white marble, it is the place where military awards are presented and many family balls have been held.  The orange and black accents on the benches represent the fire and smoke of war.  On the walls are engraved the names of those who have received military recognition through out the history of Russian wars. 

The orange and black benches

The names on the wall

 The last two rooms in which we were allowed to take pictures were equally as beautiful. The chandelier in one weighs about 3 tons.  

The blues in this last photographed room were a sharp contrast from the golden splendor of the earlier rooms, but still very beautiful. Intricately painted scenes appeared on three of the four walls.

From this room, we were taken back to the earlier centuries of the Russian dynasties as we toured the rest of the palace.  One room was referred to as the faceted room. It had beautiful historical frescos painted on the walls and domed ceilings. This was the room where guests could greet the czar.  He would sit in the corner opposite the entrance and watch each guest's reaction as they entered the magnificent room.  

What a special privilege this was for all of us.

Sunday was a wonderful day as well.  It was an area conference broadcast which we could download in English and watch in the comfort of our apartment. That evening, we had Elders Calderwood and Genys and our friend, Sergey, over for dinner. Sergey is the man who comes to our institute class and English group. The elders have had a few discussions with him in the past couple of weeks.  We had a great dinner and then met in the living room to visit.  The elders issued a challenge to him to commit to baptism. Sergey understands the responsibility that comes with baptism and is reluctant until he can change a few things in his life. We will keep him in our prayers and hope he will gain a testimony of the gospel strong enough to truly desire to change. The gospel would bring him so much joy.  At the end of the evening, Sergey did agree to say the prayer.  He thanked Heavenly Father for the evening and hoped we could do it again.  Then as they were all leaving, he said that dinner was the best food he had ever tasted.  

The dinner served to Sergey and the missionaries -

Chicken Parmesan, Garlic potatoes, Green beans,

 Green salad with marinated tomatoes and mushrooms and Bread sticks.

Applesauce cake and whipped cream was served for dessert

Our week started out as usual with family home evening in our apartment on Monday evening.  We had 1 investigator, 1 less active member, 3 companionships and 2 young singles.  It was another fun evening and, as always, ended in dessert.  I had experimented with lime bars using the lemon bar recipe.  They were a big hit.

One of two games played.  

This was a lively one and we

wondered if the neighbors 

would complain.  

Lime bars and Congo bars

for refreshments

Tuesday was zone conference.  Sister Borders decided to order pizza for lunch rather that having the wards and branches provide the lunch.  Papa John's was blown away with such a large order.....14 large pizzas and 7 small pizzas times 3 days.  The delivery boy said it was the biggest order they had ever received.  The elders and sisters were in heaven and ate every last slice.  

Tuesday night Paul administered an English proficiency test to 7 people.  We are hoping to start a new Pathway cohort in January and the first step is to find enough people (at least 10) who are members of the church and speak English well enough to pass the test. We are giving another test next Tuesday. We keep praying that we will be able to find enough interested students.  


Wednesday was our English group and, as always, it was a delight to be with our Russian friends who come so faithfully every week. We have such a good time in our discussion with them. This week we discussed service and humanitarian aid.  

Thursday we prepared all day for our Institute class.  We are now teaching from the conference talks and so we selected President Monson's talk on obedience. We had a very spiritual discussion with our students as they shared times in their lives when obedience brought blessings. A great class. We love teaching from the actual words of the prophets.

Friday we decided to shop at Ashan's instead of our regular Monday shop day.  We saw the first sign of Christmas there. We have been wondering if the retailers get into Christmas as much as they do at home. We are thinking this is the biggest celebration of the year as we have seen no other signs of any other holiday yet.  One of the reasons I wanted to shop on Friday is that I needed to find some disposable pie pans and a pumpkin or a squash.  In a couple of weeks we will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our district.  There are no turkeys available which means no traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I, at least, wanted to make pumpkin pie.  Ashan's had the pie tins but no pumpkins.  We went to the little local renak across the street from our apartment and found a half of a pumpkin.  I was so excited, even though we had to pay over eight dollars for it.  It's now pumpkin puree waiting to be baked into pies and other delicious pumpkin goodies. I just have to find the time to bake them.

First sign of Christmas - November 15th.  Russians celebrate

their Christmas around the 7th of January, not on the 25th of December. 

It is in connections with their new year celebration.

Our $8.00 pumpkin...I mean half pumpkin

All ready to go in the oven to bake.

Friday night was our game night and we had 7 non members show up.  A couple of sisters brought an investigator and the 6 others showed up as a result of an invitation offered to them at English group. Luckily there was a member there who could speak with them and get them started in a fun game. They stayed for a couple of hours playing and visiting. Hopefully they will come next week.  

Elder Genys and Elder Calderwood stopped by to

use our computer on Saturday.  I was baking cookies for the 

YSA activity so we invited them to stay a minute and try them.

They didn't hesitate to say yes to the invitation.

Saturday was a day to let down a little after a very busy week.  This week, we had something going every night. If we had time at home during the days we were studying and preparing for our lessons.  We needed Saturday to regroup. 

We have been asked to teach  a seminary lesson once a week to a young man who is here in Moscow studying dance with the Bolshoi ballet company. He is doing home study seminary which requires a weekly lesson given by a seminary teacher. We're excited to do it for him but wonder where the time will come to prepare yet another lesson.  We will rely on the Lord and, with Him, we will be able to get it all done.

Saturday evening was a Young Single Adult activity at the church.  It was a cooking activity which they called SMAK.  We think that is the name of a popular cooking show here.  Many were in attendance, including at least 7 investigators.  As a group, they made Vreniky (spelling is way off).  They are a rolled out noodle type dough filled with cherries and cream cheese, then folded over and sealed. They are then boiled to cook them.  Russians love these, especially when served with sour cream. As we were watching these young people interact with one another, we were thrilled with how everyone seemed to feel accepted and loved.  It is also nice to have been around the YSAs enough now, to recognize them and to have developed a relationship with many of them.  We have such a fun calling.....busy, but so fun.

Done and waiting to be cooked

Cooked and ready to be eaten

Not a taste or texture we enjoyed, but the young people sure did.  Now if they would have been deep fried......that would have been a different story.

Russians love sour cream on everything

LIFE IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

In Russia, it is expected that you take off your shoes as you enter a home or apartment. This is how our entryway looks whenever we have a group into our apartment.  Is is especially crowded in the winter time when everyone has coats and scarves and sometime even hats.

SIDE NOTE:  Because everyone is in their socks, after people leave we have to hand pick the carpet of all the sock lint that sticks to our rug.  Our vacuum cleaner will not pick them up.

We have mentioned Russian's developing love for American fast foods.  We have noticed, though, that they are developing their own chains of fast Russian food.   The Tepemok (pronounced Teremak) cooks large crepe like pastries and then rolls them up with all kinds of meats and vegetables inside.  They also make dessert ones.  The Kaptwka (pronounced Kartshka) is a potato place where you can add lots of different toppings to a baked potato.  Potatoes are a main stay in Russia. We think Russians will have an obesity problem in a few years, just like America does, if this fast food trend continues.

ANOTHER WEEK IS OVER BUT MANY GREAT MEMORIES

HAVE BEEN CREATED AND WILL BE WITH US FOREVER