A NEW STAKE PRESIDENT AND MEN'S DAY BOOKEND OUR WEEK

Sunday, February 16th, a big thing happened here in Moscow. A new Stake President was called to lead the Moscow Stake. Moscow was the first stake established in Russia in 2011. Sunday was the time to make a change in the original Stake Presidency. Our first stake president was the former district president and had served for over 5 years, a long time for a man with a very young family. We all attended a special conference Sunday morning at a local convention hall. It was wonderful to see so many faithful saints all in one place. Of course, the new stake president was sustained unanimously. It will be interesting to see the direction this new leadership takes the stake. He was a very successful ward mission leader in the University branch before this new call and so we're hoping he will focus strongly on missionary work. 

The following Sunday, the 23rd, was a holiday here in Russia called Men's Day. It used to be held to celebrate only veterans but has evolved into a general celebration of all men. In keeping with this, our Relief Society prepared a song to sing to the men of the ward and lots of refreshments for them to eat after our meeting block. About 15 minutes before the end of Relief Society and Priesthood, we all gathered in the institute room on the third floor. The women sang, "Love is Spoken Here" and the Relief Society President gave a tribute to our men in the ward. Afterwards everyone enjoyed lots of fruits and sweet treats while visiting together.  


The night before this, a ward party had also been held to celebrate this holiday. It was a well planned and very fun party. The whole evening was spent in teams, men against the women.  We played a fun game using both pictionary (drawing) and charades (acting).  We also played name that tune, name that movie clip, and a game where a person acted out a fractured fairy tale using the vowels of each word as clues. The funniest activity was a competition where the men and women had to braid three ribbons. Paul was on the men's team. I took a video that is so funny but can't get it to download onto this blog. Everyone was laughing so hard. It was so hilarious to watch these men try and decide who needed to go over who in order to create the braid. The whole evening was full of lots of laughter. Everyone had such a good time.

NOW FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK..........

Monday we had our last apartment check for the quarter. The sisters must have spent the whole weekend cleaning their apartment as we had never seen an apartment so spotless...even the oven and microwave.  Before going home, we detoured to the Metropolis mall for lunch. We noticed Elders Calderwood and Folkman there so they joined us....we all love Wendy's. While we were eating, we began listening to a group of boys sitting at the table next to us. They were all speaking English so, of course, that caught our attention. Paul went over to talk with them and found out they go to the international school which is one stop South on the metro.  Their parents are diplomats here from the US and Korea. 

We had a delightful time with these elders

at our dinner table.

When we returned home, I made some congo bars, thinking I would give some to Isaac when he came over for his seminary lesson that afternoon and freeze the rest for English group on Wednesday. That's when the steady stream of Elders began coming to our apartment.  Elders Davis and Braun had to email home.  When they left Elders Jewkes and Friar came over to study before catching a train.  Elders Merrill and Bug then came by to fill out a survey President Borders requested. Of course, I had to give each of them a few congo bars. When it was time to fix dinner, we still had a houseful of elders so we extended an invitation for them to stay for dinner. They jumped at the offer.  I offered congo bars for dessert and all but two were eaten. So much for my plan to save them for English group. 

The two Congo bars left of a pan of 40

A highlight of the night, though, was facetiming Mom and Dad in Hawaii.  My brother and sister in law, Don and Dana, took Mom and Dad to Hawaii to visit Deon and Gary, my sister and brother in law who are on a mission there. We had a wonderful visit. Face time is the greatest.  



Due to zone conference this week, we did not have our regular Tuesday district meeting. Both Tuesday and Wednesday, though, were busy in preparation for our institute lesson on Thursday.  We had to be totally ready on Wednesday as we knew we'd be involved in zone conference most of Thursday.  Those two days were also spent baking 6 loaves of banana bread for zone conference lunch and two desserts for refreshments for English group.  

Love the creative fishing poles - broom handles!

Zone conference, on Thursday, was especially good.  We loved the counsel and challenges given by the president. The whole focus was on contacting. The strongest 'contacters' were asked to come forward and give some ideas as to how to be successful.  The zone leaders presented a darling skit about fishing. They were illustrating ways to 'fish for contacts to teach' using the proper bait. It was funny but very effective.  Our assistants gave a training on setting realistic goals as a mission. It seems they had asked each district to set a goal for baptisms and baptismal dates before transfers.  With less than a month to go before transfers, the numbers came back so unreachable that the AP's knew they needed to teach how to set realistic and attainable goals. Their training was very effective, too.  

These are the elders and sisters called up to talk about their successful 

contacting techniques. We obviously have the leaders in our district as 

all who were called up were either in our 

district or have been in our district.

The main thrust of our Institute lesson was a comparison between Satan's vain and false doctrines which we labeled as 'tools of illusion' and the Doctrine of Christ. We also discussed how to know which to choose.  We love the insights some of our students give to the principles we teach.  A good percentage of our students are return missionaries. They have had much experience teaching the Doctrine of Christ and seeing people's lives change as they decide to accept Christ and His gospel. Truly, this is one of our favorite assignments of this mission. We love the continual study of the scriptures this requires as well as the opportunity to teach these wonderful young singles. So uplifting.

Friday, Paul watched BYU beat Gonzaga in the replay of the game. I went to a yoga and baked some more cookies for game night. We taught Isaac and then spent the evening at the church doing a puzzle with Sasha, for whom we had promised cookies if he would come to game night.

In front of the Russian Historical

Museum

Which brings us to Saturday. At noon we met Elder and Sister Hayes and visited the Moscow Historical Museum on Red Square. We were told it was a must to see and, although we could read very little of the explanations on the displays, it was a great experience.  We were amazed at the inside of the building. It could have been a museum all by itself as each room was so beautifully constructed to reflect the displays therein. Afterward we tried a new Mexican restaurant called the Mexican Club. It was in an upscale mall just off Red Square and the food was very tasty. A good choice for a late lunch/dinner. We returned home just in time to change and attend the ward party to celebrate Men's day.

 Some of the beautiful rooms in the museum.  

Many of them could have come right out of a tsar's palace

There was a large room of gold and brass

items from the different dynasties.

Here are just two of the many period clothing on display.

This is a carriage for the children of royalty.  

The seating area of this carriage was only less than 4 feet high.

Enjoying good food and good company at the Mexican restaurant.

LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

In the grocery stores we see all sorts of exotic fruits of which we have no idea what they are.  While at the sister's apartment this week we were shown what one of them was....a pomello. It is a large grapefruit type fruit, a little less tart, but very hard to get to the actual part you can eat....lots of peel and membrane.  

While at English group, a girl said something that was quite interesting.  It helped us understand the Russian culture a little better. We were talking in a small group about healthy living. One of the girls asked me how I stayed healthy.  Everyone else in the group has talked about eating the right foods, exercising and getting enough sleep.  I decided to talk about attitude so I said that part of living healthily was to be happy, to find something to smile about every day. The girl who asked the question immediately responded with, "We live in Russia. How can we be happy? There are so many things to be stressed and worried about." I felt sad. We don't sense that with the members of the church here, but it must be quite common with the majority of the people here.

When we took the aeroexpress train to the airport a few weeks ago, we noticed this vending machine in the waiting room. Have you every seen a hot hamburger come out of a machine before. We hadn't.  We wondered what they would taste like, but not enough to try one.

ONE BAPTISM, TWO SCARES, THREE APARTMENT CHECKS AND FIVE HATS

Whenever we have a baptism in our district, it is the highlight of the week. Saturday we attended the baptism of Dema, an investigator of Elder Jewkes and Elder Friar. He was one of those golden contacts....the second in a row for Elder Jewkes, Andre being the first. We recently heard Dema's story. Two weeks before the missionaries contacted Dema on the street, a woman had collapsed right in front of him. He administrated mouth to mouth and saved her life. After having several lessons with the missionaries, Dema was sure that the Lord had put the missionaries in his path as a reward for what he had done for the woman. He saved a woman physically and the Lord allowed the missionaries to bring him a message that would save him spiritually. Surely a miracle from the Lord. His baptism was a beautiful service with many in attendance to celebrate with him.

Here, Dema is looking like a long time
 member of the church in his new suit.
He had been wearing his every day
clothes to church.   In an interview,
 the bishop asked him if he would consider
 wearing a suit and tie and so this
is how he showed up to his baptism.

We feel the missionary work here in the Russia Moscow mission is really beginning to blossom. As of the end of January, we have had 10 baptisms compared to zero at the same time last year. The mission's goal is 130 baptisms this year so the missionaries are putting on a real push to bring the joy of the gospel to those they meet. They have committed to be 100% obedience and many have begun to make sacrifices (such as the sweet sacrifice at Christmas time) to invoke the blessings of heaven to help them find those golden contacts. They are involving the members of the wards and branches more by increasing their member present discussions with investigators. We feel the Lord's spirit is hovering over this choice land and that someday, in the near future, it will be like South America in terms of the growth of the church. The saints here are so strong and are wonderful examples through whom the investigators can see the joy, peace and strength the gospel can bring into their lives. We are so grateful to be a small part of this marvelous work.  Missions are the greatest.

After the baptism we served refreshments, as we always do.  We brought a large pan of a three layered brownie (40 pieces) and some lemon bread (20 slices).  It was all gone quite quickly. Many in attendance came up to tell me how delicious they thought the brownies were but the Bishop's comment was priceless.  After complimenting me on the brownies he quietly added, "Could you teach my wife how to make them?"  Of course I agreed to provide a recipe.

A rather funny note:  As we left the baptism, Elder Jewkes noticed that Paul did not have a coat on.  It has been above freezing for the last couple of days so Paul thinks it's too warm for a coat over his suit jacket. Elder Jewkes commented about his not wearing a coat and predicted that Paul would get yelled at by somone. Sure enough, as we walked to the metro, a man we didn't know looked at Paul, started pointing his finger, and yelling at him. We couldn't understand what he was saying, but It was probably about Paul not wearing a coat. The Russian people are strangely superstitious about the cold and the need to stay warm.   

Elder Friar in the middle excitingly displaying the

plate of cookies we brought for them to eat.

Now for the apartment checks and the hats......This week was our week to begin the quarterly checks of the apartments of our sisters and elders. On Wednesday, we headed up toward the mission office to check the office elder's apartment as well as the AP's apartment. We had not checked these two apartments before as we had been told the office couple was checking them. We found out recently that they had not been doing them so we agreed to add them to our list of apartments to check. At the AP's apartment we noticed three Russian hats on a night stand. Of course, we had to have them modeled. To think, people actually wear these to keep their heads warm....amazing. 

Elder Davis is in the t-shirt because he had washed his

white shirts and they weren't dry yet.

Friday brought the next apartment check and two more hats. Elder Davis, who goes home in three weeks, will be taking these hats home. He received the mask as a white elephant gift at the mission Christmas party and the other hat he bought as a souvenir. Of course, we needed pictures. Elder Davis also had a set of three of Russian nesting dolls to take home with him.  These are unique as they depict each of the presidents of the church since Joseph Smith. They are available from a local artist who paints them for anyone who will pay 1600 rubles, about $50.00. I think that will be something we will have to bring home.

The prophet 'matryoshka' dolls - Inside each of these

are smaller dolls with the faces of the other presidents 

of the church painted on them.

This calendar is in Russian, of course, 

 We hope we can find one of these in English.

The English ones were handed out in the 

international ward.

Now back to the beginning of the week. On Sunday, we were so impressed with the goals the bishop set out for the ward.  Three of the five are related to missionary work. The goals are 1) to work with the missionaries in gathering Israel, 2) to maintain interest in recent converts, 3) to return to activity the less active members, 4) to increase attendance at sacrament meetings, and 5) to increase the number of temple recommend holders in the ward. A well designed card with these goals printed on it was handed out for each household to put in their homes.  Impressive. Then at our joint Priesthood/Relief Society meeting the new push for family home evening being held in each home was presented.  A calendar was likewise given to each household to hang in their homes, which included suggested topics for weekly family home evening discussions.  
Again, very impressive.

Monday was a day of shopping and studying and our first scare.  We decided to take a walk to check out a grocery store we had passed a few weeks ago. We were disappointed in the store as the prices were higher than our little local store and it didn't have the items we were looking for, like any Mexican foods. As we were walking home, we about had heart attacks.  We were just walking along and a policeman called out to us and put his hand out to stop us. Our hearts started pounding and we immediately had visions of having to show all our paper work and/or being hauled off to a police station. In reality, all the policeman was doing was stopping us from crossing a driveway into which a truck was turning. After the truck successfully completed the turn and was in the driveway, we were allowed to continue our walk. We were so relieved.

An enchilada and taco on the plates and

a nacho in the center of the table.

Tuesday was district meeting.  We only had two companionships as the others were involved in a zone conference. When we have only 6 of us, we can sit around the table which was a good thing for what we served. We had finally found more corn/wheat tortillas at a grocery store so we decided to treat the district to tacos and enchiladas.  They were thrilled. Dessert, a lemon cream pie, was served after the meeting as everyone was too full to eat it right after lunch. The rest of the day was spent studying for our Institute lesson and our seminary lesson for Isaac. Later that night cookies were baked to take to the elders and sisters when we check their apartments.

Besides apartment checks, Wednesday brought a missionary discussion with another Dema at our apartment. He has a baptismal date of March 1st. He was very receptive to the Restoration video and asked some good questions.  He also attended the baptism for the other Dema on Saturday. A good indication that he is very serious about his commitment to be baptized.  

At English group that night we were in charge of the vocabulary words and the activity. We played sentence basketball.  Everyone was given several slips of paper and a pencil. The elders and sisters read sentences, using the vocabulary words, to their groups. The people were to write the sentences on a paper, wad it up, and make a basket with it by tossing it into a waste paper basket. Everyone seemed to have a good time.  Wednesday we also began a 24 hour fast. Our newly created zone decided to fast for the month of February.  One companionship is fasting each day of the month.  The purpose - to be able to meet the goals of member present discussions and baptismal dates.  Our first day to fast started at 6 pm on Wednesday and went till 6 pm on Thursday.

Thursday was a crazy day - lesson prep, a senior council Valentine party, and our Institute/Pathway Gathering.  We were teaching the Isaiah chapters of the Book of Mormon and so the study for the week has been rather intense. We were thrilled with how our lesson was received. We felt the students went away with a greater insight in understanding the words Isaiah.  We sure gained a lot in our preparation.

Paul telling his lie about how we met.

The Valentine party at senior council was a fun and a welcomed change from the speakers we usually have each Thursday. We all were asked to bring appetizers and to come prepared to share our stories of how we met, dated and got engaged.  Paul and I were asked not to tell the truth but to make up a believable story. I made the appetizers (a fruit pizza and a vegetable pizza) and Paul made up the story. It was fun to try and guess who was lying and who was telling the truth. Paul convinced all but about 5 that he was telling the truth.  

Friday brought the apartment check, lunch at Burger King (our big Valentine day celebration), game night at the institute room and a second scare. The scare came when we got home from Burger King. Paul went to get something out of his wallet and couldn't find it. For a while, we thought he had been pick pocketed on the metro and we were feeling really sick about it.  After looking in all the pockets of his coat and pants, he opened the drawer in his office and found it.  It seems he had laid it on his desk when he first got home and it had fallen into the drawer.  We were so relieved.

The Seaside puzzle completed.  It was over half done

by the time we got to game night so we think we will

set it up at home and do it all by ourselves.  It is a fun one

to do because of all the interesting details.

At game night there were 2 investigators.  We are so thrilled that our missionaries feel good about bringing their investigators to be with the young singles on game nights. Our young singles are usually really good at including them into their games. We think the missionaries love to come too. As soon as our new YSA council is up and planning again, our goal is to make sure all the missionaries here in Moscow have a monthly schedule of all YSA events. These activities can be a great missionary tool.

LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

As we have mentioned often, we are so impressed with the members of the church here in Moscow.  We will spotlight three of the reasons:

1.  No matter the activity, there is always a well prepared spiritual thought presented before any of the fun and games begin.

2.  If any kind of food is involved in an activity, no one will eat it until it has been blessed. We have even seen them say a second prayer once they realized a treat for after Institute hadn't been blessed in the closing prayer. During institute this week one of the senior couples brought up a small plate of leftover appetizers (cheese and olives on a toothpick). We told the students they were free to eat them. Of course, a blessing on these tiny leftovers was included in the closing prayer.

3.  At testimony meeting we have yet to see a pause in the bearing of testimonies. As soon as one person finishes a testimony and says amen, someone else is right there ready to bear testimony. We see these people eager to share with everyone their feelings about the gospel and the blessings it brings into their lives.

JUST SOME OF THE REASONS WE LOVE THESE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND 

LOVE SERVING OUR MISSION HERE IN RUSSIA

BACK TO OUR ROUTINE AND LOVING IT

It is always good to get back into a normal routine after traveling.  Our week this week has been pretty much what we would expect it to be....busy, fun, and rewarding.  Let's start at the top.

Our usual Monday shop was done on Saturday so we would have time to go to the mission office and get our papers updated.....something we have to do anytime we leave Russia. We are to carry an updated migration card on us at all times so the office has to process the new dates, send them in, and get a new migration card as fast as possible. The trip to the office takes an hour each way and it takes at least an hour in the office to get everything processed and copied. That was a big chunk of the day especially when we stopped at the Metropolis Mall on the way home for a late lunch. We raced home to get things ready for family home evening only to find out that no one was coming. All of our elder's and sister's investigators canceled out on them. That's a first since we started holding these evenings but it will be the last. The area presidency has asked all young adult family home evenings to be moved to another night and be renamed. They are putting a big push in the Eastern Europe Area to get members to hold family home evenings with their families. It seems that young parents think FHE is a young single adult Monday night activity and not for their families. By not holding anything on Mondays, the members should come to know of the importance of being with family. The missionaries in our ward are setting up times with our ward families to visit them and show them how to hold a family home evening. The area presidency feels strongly that the saints in the area are ready for this new level of commitment. We will support them one hundred per cent but will miss our Monday meetings with our missionaries, their investigators and our YSA ward members. 

We have a new Assistant to the President

in our district.  Elder Friar,

on the right, is now serving with

 Elder Jewkes.   They make great team

and are invaluable to the President.

Tuesday was our usual district meeting....the first one held in our home since transfers. We have three new companionships in our district and this week was their first lunch at our home. It was wonderful to get to know our two new elders and one sister.  We look forward to spoiling them a bit. The office elders brought us a much welcomed package. It was from Ryan and Katie...a belated Christmas package.  We loved opening it and especially loved the new pictures they sent of their darling family.  Of course, we had to show off our grandchildren to our whole district. 

Pictures of the family, special notes, a puzzle of Seaside, Oregon,

four bags of chocolate chips and a jar of oregano.

So fun!!!!!

Elder Braun, on the right, 

joined Elder Davis

Sister Hunter, on the right, is

Sister Simmon's new companion

 

 Elders Braun and Davis came early to district meeting.

They had stopped at an Apteka (drug store) and bought some

wart remover medicine.  It seems both of them have a wart on the bottom of their feet.  They applied the medicine then covered it with

duct tape, a remedy for wart removal that Paul found on the internet.

At the end of the night, being exhausted, the only thing that sounded good to do was watch a movie.  I tried a new recipe for kettle corn and it was yummy (to 3 Tbs. hot oil in a pan, add 1/2 c. unpopped corn that has been tossed with 1/4 c. sugar and a scant teaspoon of salt. Cover and shake over medium heat until popped. Watch carefully because the sugar will burn easily). A great way to end a busy day.


On Wednesday we were involved in our lesson preparation for Institute, and then that evening, facilitating English discussion group. Thursday was when we put the final touches onto our lesson for teaching that night. We taught from 2 Nephi 9 which is a beautiful discussion on the atonement. We found a powerful video to show that was centered on an Easter talk by Elder Holland. It was the perfect conclusion to help us all appreciate our Savior's greatest gift to us.

My yoga instructor,

Jeanie Pierson

Friday brought something a little different....a yoga class for me.  While Paul watched the BYU versus Santa Clara basketball game, I walked to the church to attend a newly organized yoga class. This old body was able to do everything asked of it during the class, but it began to complain a couple of days later....a little sore. It felt good, though, to exercise my body in that way

That's Sasha being silly.  He

is our Institute President.

Friday night we attended the new format for our once a month YSA family home evening. We had a YSA Activity Night (the new name for now) at the church in place of or in conjunction with our game night. There were lots of people there including 5 investigators and three sets of missionaries. Games were played and refreshments served. Everyone seemed to have a good time.  

We spent part of the time working the new puzzle Ryan and Katie sent us. The puzzle we had been working on for the past couple of weeks was almost done. We were looking forward to finishing it but Leelee and Masha completed it before we got to work on it. Leelee seems to know exactly when a puzzle is almost finished. She delights in putting in the last few pieces of the puzzles we have worked so hard on...much to Paul's dismay. (She had completed the last three that we've started.) It is a standing joke between them now.

Masha and Leelee celebrating the completion

of our puzzle

Saturday we went on an adventure with two other couples.  We all wanted to find an IKEA store. There are two here in Moscow.  We headed for the one on the north end of town. The adventure came when we got off the metro at the last stop on the green line and boarded a small van to take us the rest of the way to IKEA. It is always interesting to get on a bus when you don't know exactly where you are going and don't speak the language. We just had to take the driver's nods as confirming that he understood where we needed to go. We did get there and found some much needed items....like fitted sheets. We should have brought them from home but didn't. Very few places carry them and if they do they are grossly expensive. We also bought two new towels that are lighter weight. Now I won't have to do a separate wash for each of our towels. The ride home was a little more interesting. Again we trusted the driver's nods that he would take us to the metro station. He did take us to a metro station but to a different one than we had come on.  We ended up on the purple line instead of the green line. At least ,it was a metro station. Once in the Metro, we could quite easily figure out how to get back home, even though it it did take a few minutes longer.

These are the Ropers, one of the couples that went with us on our little adventure

to IKEA.  We were riding on the metro train on our way to the specified meeting place.

 When the doors opened up at the Sokal station, there were the Ropers, 

waiting for the train to stop so they could get on. 

Quite a coincidence when you consider the number

of trains that pass through the stations every minute or so

 and the number of cars on each train.

 We couldn't have planned it better if we would have tried.

The Milestrups, in front, and the Piersons joined us

for a fun evening.

Saturday afternoon we taught Isaac a double seminary lesson and then raced out of the apartment to meet two other couples for a night out on the town. We all met at the Belaruskia metro station and walked to the Torro Grill restaurant. We were all needing a night out and decided to go to dinner. It was a nice change....the food was good and company was even better. An interesting thing happened as we walked out of the metro. A young man passed us and said, 'welcome' in perfect English. He had not heard us speaking but could figure out we were American just by looking at us. We were dressed casually and no one had a missionary tag on. We don't think we look that much different but obviously we do. This happens often to us. Twice in MacDonald's, people have come up to us and started speaking English. We must really stand out.

LIFE IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

The mop Paul was not

allowed to use.

Russians are very intent in not letting old people, like us, do any physical labor. Friday night at our YSA activity, Paul went and got the mop to wipe up some juice that had spilled. One of the girls, Inessa, ran over and grabbed the mop away from him and would not let him do it.  Instead, she mopped up the floor.  It is the same when I try to move chairs.  Someone always comes to do it for me.

The art train

Russians love cultural things - music, dance, drama, and art. There are many museums and theaters where you can go to take part in these arts. Who would think, though, that the metro would have a special art train. We had heard about this train that runs on the blue line but had never seen it until last week. The train is an art museum on wheels. It is painted in brilliant colors on the outside and on the inside of each car hangs beautiful pieces of art. Amazing. 

Inside the cars of the art train

......and that ends another wonderful week in the life of the Millars.

IT WAS OFF TO TURKEY FOR FIVE DAYS OF SUN.....NOT

Our week started Sunday with the confirmation of Andre who was baptized a couple of week ago. Paul was asked to stand in the circle and felt blessed to do so. Then, after sacrament meeting, I was asked if I would give a spiritual thought in Relief Society.  I spent the time in Sunday School thinking about what to say. We had just taught a lesson on the tree of life so my thoughts went to the iron rod and the mists of darkness that can envelope us all. The lesson that followed my thought in Relief Society was also on the iron rod. I didn't know that before class. It must have been inspiration from the Lord as it fit right into the message of the lesson. Our day ended with a CES fireside broadcast at which Elder Tad Callister spoke. It was a wonderful talk comparing the church the Lord established when He walked the earth to His church on the earth today. So simple yet so powerful. Quite a testimony of modern day revelation and the truth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. We took brownies for refreshments. They were devoured except for one.  No one likes to take the last one of anything. That was good because I had put that one and three others aside for Paul for when we got home. Only one survived our hungry young singles.

We went home that night and immediately started to pack for our trip to Antalya, Turkey. We spent five days in Turkey at a CES conference. The CES couples from all over Eastern Europe came for information and inspiration. It was a wonderful change of pace....quite relaxing, in fact.  We flew out Monday afternoon and arrived in Antalya around 5 pm.  It was dark and rainy.  Our local guide welcomed us to Turkey telling us how the sun shines 300 days of the year. We experienced 3 of the 65 no sun and rainy days. It was warmer, though.  We stayed at an all inclusive resort situated right on the Mediterranean.  It included at least three swimming pools and a water park with a couple of water slides, an enormous children's play area, and miles of beach front.  We were there in the off season, but we could imagine how beautiful the resort would be in the spring and summer.  The food was a buffet, all you can eat.

The resort grounds

One of the pools and one of the slides.  Water would be

cascading down the white rocks if it were Spring.

The children's play area

The grounds looking out at the Mediterranean from our balcony

Our days (Tuesday through Thursday) were spent in meetings with our CES area coordinator and three coordinators from other Eastern European districts. The classes gave us a lot to think about and inspired us to want to do better in reaching out individually to our young singles. On Tuesday, we had to give a 20 minute presentation on the young single activities we have had in Moscow. We did a slide show presentation but had to speed through it because the couple before us took almost an hour.  They were scheduled to have only 20 minutes, too. Oh well.  

One of the activities the other couple presented

Wednesday, the weather was incredibly windy and cold but at lunch time several couples walked down to the beach front anyway. One of the elders had changed into a swimsuit and dove right into the rather cold water. His friend followed suit, but in his suit. He gave his coat to his wife to hold but went into the waves wearing his suit pants and white shirt. We all got a big kick out of it but all the time we were wondering if his suit pants would be ruined.  

In the water, Elder Nelson (in the white shirt) and Elder Walker

For you Spokane readers, this is Gordon Hawkins' younger step brother.

Small world when you are in the church.

During the conference, most couples had an assignment or two. Our second assignment was to conduct the day's meetings on Thursday. Paul did a wonderful job as he always does.  

President Bennett of the Area Presidency spent most of the conference with us. He spoke to us at firesides on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and gave us some inspired messages of encouragement. On Thursday he rehearsed with us the history of the area in which we were staying. The apostle Paul sailed from Antalya. He also taught in Perge, a city just 30 minutes from Antalya. We had the opportunity, that afternoon, of taking a bus to the ruins of Perge....not as extensive as Ephesus but amazing just the same. We could see the pillar lined main roads on which Paul probably walked, the market place in the center of the city, and the bath houses used by the upper class of the time.  The main city gate of Paul's time was replaced by a Roman gate when the city had to be enlarged. The water system that carried water to the city from the nearby hills ran down stone lined troughs in the middle of the city.  The sewer system was built just below those troughs, all running out to the sea. We were amazed at the workmanship that must have taken place when the city was in its prime.  All the stone buildings we see today were once faced with thin slabs of marble. A few of the intricate stone carvings, all hand chiseled, are still intact. We could imagine how beautiful this city must have been when Paul walked it's streets and taught the people of Perge.  An amazing and educational side trip.

The main street of Perge

Looking through the Roman gate 

to the original city gate

Looking into the market place,

The stone lined troughs that carried water throughout the city

A second street among the ruins.

 You can see the water trough built right down the middle of the street.

These are what were once shop fronts. 

They were situated around the outside of the market place

as well as along the far sides of the streets.

The culminating activity of our conference was a testimony meeting on Thursday night. There was a sweet spirit there as we all stood to bear testimony of our Savior and his church, of our missions, and of the young single (CES) program. It was wonderful to feel the spirits of each of the couples we met throughout the conference. They are truly great people and so dedicated to their missions and the young singles with which they work. We all came away from these few days knowing that we have each been called to our specific missions, at this time, for a specific reason. We also felt sure that the Lord knows each of us and assigned us to where he knew we could function most fully and effectively. By the end of the conference, Paul and I were even more grateful to be in Moscow doing what we have been asked to do.....A perfect mission for us.

Before leaving on Friday we took a walk into the city of Antalya. It was a warm day, the sun was shining, and we had several hours before we would be leaving for the airport. 

On a plaza in town

A beautiful mosque

There were many citrus trees lining the streets,

  We tried to eat an orange from this tree but it was way too sour.

The city's decor reflects the nearby ruins of Perge 

Of course we had to take one last walk out to the Mediterranean Sea.

Our friend, Jeanne, couldn't resist getting her feet wet.  

We flew home on Friday and were grateful to be back home in Moscow by about midnight. We felt sorry for those couples who had another 4 or 5 hour flight to get to the eastern parts of Russia.  Some had to spend the night in Moscow before catching Saturday flights to their homes.

We met one such couple for lunch at Shake Shack Saturday afternoon. Elder and Sister Nelson's flight for Vladivostock was not scheduled until 5 pm. The Piersons took them to see Red Square and the Church of Christ Savior in the morning and we met both couples in the early afternoon for a hamburger and fries and shake. The Nelsons were in heaven at the Shake Shack as they hadn't had a hamburger, fries and a shake since they arrived in Russia. Where they are serving there are no fast food restaurants. Amazing but they say their area is at least 20 years behind Moscow. Later that evening we began our weekly institute study and our night ended with a quick dinner of tuna on toast. (It was the first time we had opened a can of tuna since we've been here.)  It was an early bedtime for us as we were exhausted.


We started our week, last Sunday, talking about Andre being confirmed and we will end our week with Andre, too. He is such a dear man. He came to church this Sunday in a newly purchased suit and looked like he had been a member of the church for years, not just weeks. He received the Priesthood and after church had the Elders bring him over to our home. He wanted to give us a gift for having prepared the 'break the fast' dinner after his baptism. He doesn't speak much English but before he came to our home, he rehearsed with the Elders what he wanted to say. To us, in broken English, he said, "I have prepared a small present for you for your kindness and for making dinner for everyone at my baptism." He then gave us these two boxes of 'chi' (tea). It was special to us as we know how hard it was for him to give up his black tea which is against the Word of Wisdom. He said he had tried many different kinds of herbal teas and the two he gave us were his favorites. So thoughtful. He will be a great leader in the church here in Russia someday.

WE KNOW WE HAVE ADJUSTED TO LIFE IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

We know we have adjusted to life in Russia when.......

........no ice in our soda pop drinks from fast food restaurant doesn't seem strange anymore. We do still love it when they ask us if we want ice. There are also no refills....that has been hard to get used to.

.......we walk with our eyes always on the ground. Not to avoid the looks of other people but to make sure we don't make any missteps. The sidewalks are in no way level. Winter makes it doubly necessary to watch every step. We do not want to take a fall.

.......we no longer notice the cracks in the tile floors of our apartment or the duct tape holding up our shower curtain rod and the kitchen light over the stove. (Thank goodness for duct tape.)

AND LASTLY.........

.......after taking a lovely trip to Turkey, we were so glad to return to Moscow and our little apartment and to get back to our life here where we truly feel at home.