TEN HOURS AT THE FEET OF AN APOSTLE....A MISSION HIGHTLIGHT

We have been anticipating the visit of Elder Bednar to Moscow for at least a month. All our expectations were met and exceeded this weekend, when he came for a Stake Conference. We were spiritually fed for 10 hours as we sat at his feet to listen and learn. He met with the Priesthood brethren for four hours Saturday morning, two hours in an adult session Saturday night, two hours in a Sunday morning session, and, then, almost four hours with the missionaries Sunday afternoon.  Wow, what a spiritual feast. Paul came out of the Saturday morning Priesthood session loving how and what Elder Bednar taught. It was a question and answer session where Elder Bednar would ask questions and then speak based on the answers given. The brethren were also able to ask questions. It's amazing how Elder Bednar can take questions and answers and, through them, assist everyone onto a spiritual high.

The members of the stake waiting their turn to shake

the hand of Elder and Sister Bednar

Saturday night was a more formal type setting but equally as uplifting. He testified about the characteristics of Jesus Christ to help us realize that, in all He did, He was turning himself outward toward others. Even in His greatest trial, He reached outward to his mother, to the two thieves on the cross, and to his murderers (forgive them for they know not what they do). He encouraged us to develop this unselfish, giving trait in our lives so we can become like him....perfect or complete. He taught us that becoming perfect is not performance without error. It is becoming complete through Christ. He pronounced an apostolic blessing upon the congregation during which everyone felt it was meant just for them....as if he had laid his hands, individually, upon each of our heads. So powerful. Afterwards the congregation lined up to shake his hand. What a privilege for these Moscow saints.....and for us.

Our special Lada shaking

an apostle's hand

A couple of our elders with

a recent convert and an investigator.

 Sunday morning, he directed his message to the investigators in the audience as he talked about the name of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said, likewise, the church in Christ's time could have been called The Church of Jesus Christ of Ancient day Saints.  He, then, preceded to give the first two missionary discussions - The Restoration and The Plan of Salvation - in his wonderful teaching style. He talked about the priesthood and compared it to an umbrella.  The priesthood provides protection for all who are under the umbrella. He said, "Men have been assigned to hold the umbrella."  He reminded us that the priesthood is more than authority. It is power to act in God's name when 'the holder of the umbrella' is worthy and righteous. He testified that the gospel is the transformation of men and women into Sons and Daughters of God. 

Later that day, all the Moscow missionaries gathered at the Central building and eagerly awaited the arrival of Elder Bednar for a special meeting just with us. What a privilege to be a part of a 4 hour spiritual feast at the table of an apostle.  We all lined up outside as we waited for his car to arrive. We were singing 'We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet' when he drove up, got out of the car and walked up to us. Many of us shed a tear or two during the process. After a group picture, we assembled in the chapel to be fed by him.  We were not disappointed. He is definitely a master teacher and taught us how to teach with faith. We had all been asked to read three of his talks and, during the whole four hours, we talked about what we had learned and felt while studying them. It was, again, an informal format of his asking questions first and then the missionaries asking him questions.  He helped the young missionaries to realize that their only responsibility is to invite investigators to act (ie: read the Book of Mormon, pray to know of it's truthfulness, etc.) so they can learn for themselves and gain a testimony. He reminded them that they can't jam the message into their hearts because the investigators have to invite it to come into their hearts. We were advised to let the Lord do the heavy lifting.  We must develop faith enough that the Lord will guide us, through the Holy Ghost, in this work we have been called to do. Even after four hours, no one was ready for the meeting to end.  We were all on such a spiritual high that to go back out into the real world was the last thing we wanted to do. His parting counsel to us was to ask ourselves, "Based upon what we have observed, felt and learned today, what will we do?" He pronounced a blessing upon all of us that we would be able to remember and apply the things learned this day. Once again, we had the privilege of shaking his hand. We very reverently filed up to the front of the room, shook his hand, and returned to our seats, basking in the spirit we all felt.  As he left, we all stood in great reverence for this wonderful man of God. We were truly taught at the feet of an apostle of God. An amazing weekend....not only a mission highlight but a lifetime highlight.

Sister Burgener putting the finishing touches on

the table of snacks for our visitors.

I had a couple of special privileges in relation to Elder and Sister Bednar.  Paul and I were asked to help set up for and pass out snacks for the priesthood brethren during the Saturday morning session.  We also set up an expanded snack for the seven visiting Elders, including Elder Bednar, in the high council room. I was given the opportunity of being in the room when they came to eat.  I was able to introduce myself to Elder Bednar as being from Heber, and in fact, from the same ward in which he had built a second home.  He commented about how wonderful Bishop Baird was at getting inactives and non members to the meetings when he attends.  A little later, the wives of the Elders came up to the room to have something to eat, too. They had been to a meeting with the young single adult women at the South building and came up to meet their husbands after the Priesthood meeting.  They invited myself, Sister Burgener, and Sister Broadbent to join them as they ate.  We sat with them for an hour and a half just visiting together. They asked us about our responsibilities and how we felt about serving. Of course, I told them I thought Paul and I had the best assignment in the mission, working with the Young Single Adults and Pathway. It was a great opportunity to be with these women and to come to realize that they are ordinary women with extraordinary callings. What a choice experience.

Sister Causse, Sister Rasband, Sister Broadbent, Me, Sister Bennett,

Sister Lawrence, Sister Bednar, and Sister Burgener

The second experience came on Monday.  All the senior sisters traveled up to the area mission office for a luncheon with Sister Bednar and the wives of a presiding bishopric member, our area president, and a counselor in the area presidency.  After introducing ourselves, we were asked to share the blessings we have felt come into our lives because of the missions we were serving. We all were wishing we had recorded the answers as they were so uplifting and powerful. After lunch, we were given the opportunity of asking the sisters questions. There were many interesting and spiritual moments during that time, too. Sister Bednar shared with us that as soon as she was told of her husband's new assignment as an apostle she said, "I don't think I can do that." (An ordinary woman in an extraordinary calling and given what she needs to be successful in that calling by the Lord.) We assured her that she was doing it and doing it very well.  Once again, we all hated for the afternoon to end.

Everything else that happened during the week paled in comparison to the weekend events, but here is the report of those happenings. Monday, we had three senior couples over to our apartment for dinner.  The Coltons were leaving for home at the end of the week so we wanted to have them to dinner before they left. They brought the couple who is replacing them, the Pollards, and it was great to get to know them. The Jensens came also. They have invited us to their home on several occasions so we wanted to repay their kindness.  It was a good evening.

District meeting, as usual, was on Tuesday. The sisters had to come early to eat because they had a zone meeting at which they had to do a presentation. We were glad they wanted to come and eat before so we could visit with them. We had a fun surprise when Elder Melchor showed up with the office elders to our lunch and meeting. His companion had to go home for eye surgery so he was waiting for someone to accompany him back to Smolensk where he is the district leader.  Elder Melchor was in our district when we first arrived so it was great to visit with him again. He is a great missionary. We asked him what it was like to be in the office with the office elders for the past four days. He said it was like being in Liberty Jail. All he wanted was to be back in his area working with his own investigators.

So good to see Elder Melchor again

Wednesday, we had a discussion scheduled but the investigator canceled at the last minute.  We had English group to which we took simple rice krispie treats....a new taste for most Russians. They were gone in a minute as both the missionaries and the Russians loved them.

The completed board

Thursday was our Institute/Pathway gathering night. We taught about the Pride Cycle. It was a fun lesson to teach. At Paul's suggestion, so they wouldn't forget the pride cycle, everyone came up and took pictures of the board display. The best thing about the night is when Irena came up to me to tell me how much she enjoyed the lesson. She also commented on Paul and my relationship even after being married for so long  She could see that we are still best friends and very much in love and said she wanted a marriage like ours.  One of the most important things missionary couples can do for the people we serve is to be examples of a loving and eternal marriage relationship.

Taking a moment to sit

in the shade on this hot day.

Friday, the missionary discussion scheduled actually happened. The missionaries showed up with two investigators. They had just met Alex at the metro station while waiting for their investigator, Henry. Alex had just arrived in Moscow that day from the Congo. He was still in his native dress, a long tunic over tight fitting pants. He had asked the missionaries where he could go to church. The missionaries told him they would show him where the church building after the discussion with Henry. It was a great discussion and we felt that both would come back for another discussion. Henry prayed and even prayed that we could meet again. Pretty promising. After the discussion we made our way to the Metro mall to shop and for a late lunch before game night.

This is the closest thing we have to sitting in our 

backyard at home to enjoy the out of doors.

And that brings us back to the glorious weekend with Elder Bednar.

LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

This week it has been incredibly hot....unusual for Moscow in May.  We have been especially grateful for the small air conditioner unit in our bedroom. At least, it is cool enough to sleep comfortably. We have found that if we put a fan in the doorway of the bedroom, facing into the living room, then that room can be cooled quite nicely, too. Thank goodness for little pleasures.

This tree and all it's fluff is right outside our window.

The tree was just beautiful green leaves until 

about a week ago.

The heat wouldn't be quite so bad if we could open our windows, but we can't. This time of year, in Moscow, there is a tree that is shedding a white fluff. It is like it is snowing in the summer. If we open our windows to get a breeze, all that fluff comes into our apartment because we have no screens on the windows.  It will be interesting to see how long this lasts.  

This picture was taken at 10:00 at night as we were walking home from our Institute/Gathering meetings. The sun hadn't even started to go down. It gets light now by 4 in the morning and it isn't even the longest day of the year yet. We love the added light. It is so nice to walk home late at night in sunlight.

AN INCREDIBLE WEEK!

MISSION FOCUS WEEK - 200 MEMBER PRESENT LESSONS!

The crest in the center is the crest

 of the Russian Federation.  On top

 of the crest it says Russia Moscow Mission.

Surrounding the lower half of the crest 

are the words Courage, Faith, Action.

 This was designed to be our mission crest

and will appear on a t-shirt and sweatshirt

available when the missionaries finish 

their two language memorization plans.

This week has been a focus week for our missionaries.  The mission set a goal for 200 member present lessons to take place from Monday to Sunday of this week.  We were grateful we could be a small part of this by opening our home to several discussions with investigators and missionaries. Little miracles started happening on Monday to make the goal a possibility. The International Ward elders wanted to come by and use our computers to email home.  On the way to our home they happened to run into an investigator with whom they had been working. He had a few minutes to come to our home for a discussion. His name was David.....Miracle number one.



At our district meeting, Tuesday, we learned of another miracle.  The office elders were leaving the office and  two men from Pakistan just happened to be walking by. They recognized the elders name tags and asked if they had an extra Book of Mormon. The elders invited them up to the office to get a book and they ended up having a discussion with them.  The two men were open to meeting several times this week. It seems that one of the men had read the Book of Mormon and wanted one for his friend.  We will be excited to have a report as to how those other visits went.

We were a part of two more wonderful discussions...One on Wednesday and the other on Thursday.  On Wednesday, Elders Weinheimer and Anderson came by with Sasha. They have been teaching him, but he wasn't convinced that reading the Book of Mormon was important. They taught him about the importance of reading scriptures because they are God's words for us. They read with him Lehi's vision of the tree of life and the iron rod leading to the tree. When it was mentioned that the iron rod represented the word of God, Paul gave a beautiful objective lesson. He brought out an old broom handle to demonstrate the iron rod and then preceded to demonstrate how important it was to hold on tightly....in fact, to be a 'white knuckler'. He went on to explain that when we read and study and follow the counsel in the scriptures, we are holding on tight to the rod of iron.



During the lesson, a little miracle happened to me. I had a sudden thought to go to the office to get a picture of Lehi's dream from our gospel art book. I brought the picture in and gave it to Elder Anderson. He thanked me and said he had been trying to pull it up on his iPod but couldn't get it to come up. The picture gave Sasha a visual of the dream and the discussion centered around the picture for quite a while. We hope he will begin to read the scriptures now.
I

Sister Miller, Gissel, and Sister King

On Thursday, we agreed to let the International Ward sisters bring Gissell by for a lesson before her baptism on Sunday. We had not met her yet, but were so glad we spent the hour with her and the sisters. She is such a doll. She is from Cuba and has been looking for the true religion. She is so ready to be baptized and will be an instant missionary. We gave her a Book of Mormon in English which she promised to give away during the week to someone.  She and Paul even did a role play as to how she would do it. She was a natural at starting up a conversation and presenting a Book of Mormon to her contact, Paul.  We came to love her immediately and could feel of her dynamite spirit. The miracle about this meeting was that Paul and I were even available. Usually on Thursday, we are knee deep in last minute lesson preparations for the Institute class we teach each Thursday evening.  On this Thursday, our lesson came together very quickly so we had the time to meet with Gissell. So grateful for little miracles like that.  We would have hated to have missed out on meeting Gissell.

Paul and Gissel in a role play - giving away a Book of Mormon

We found out on Monday that the mission met their goal....in fact, they exceeded it by 4, for a total of 204 lessons taught with members present. This means that the relationship between missionaries and members is getting stronger. This, in turn, will increase member confidence in the missionaries.  It is a proven fact that when confidence in the missionaries is increased, members are more likely to refer friends and family to them to be taught. This leads to an increase in baptisms. Increased baptisms means more Russians enjoying the blessings of the gospel and feeling the great happiness that comes into their lives. A really good thing.

Garrett and Paul

Another highlight of the week was Garrett McClintock coming to visit us. He is a student at BYU and is over here doing an internship while studying Russian at a university. He served his mission in Russian speaking Ukraine. Garrett is best friends with my nephew, Brandon, and so he knows Don and Dana, my brother and sister-in-law. He grew up in Bakersfield so he knows my dad and sister, Deon. When my sister found out he was coming to Moscow, she and Dana arranged for him to bring us some much needed cooking supplies - brown sugar, chocolate chips, cumin, etc. He called us on Monday and we invited him to our home that evening. We had a wonderful visit and found even more connections. It seems that he was in the MTC with two of our Pathway students, Vlad and Alexey, as well as Anna, our former YSA secretary.  He knows the Hays, a senior couple serving here in Moscow and he also had met Luba, a favorite young single adult in our ward.  She had spent a few months in Provo this past fall where they had met.  Such a small, small world.  

The wonderful things he brought us.  He ran out of room

so he opted not to bring the powdered sugar thinking

it might look too much like cocaine to custom officials.

Corina showing us her

black belts.  She has  many

national honors in karate.

After district meeting on Tuesday, we did something we had never done. We went to the apartment of Corina for an authentic Russian dinner. Corina was baptized a few months ago and has been wanting us to come to her apartment for dinner. We finally arranged it for Tuesday. Elders Jordan and Folkman, of the Sokolniki district, accompanied us. It was a good thing they were with us. We had to take the metro and then a bus as she lives on the outskirts of Moscow. We totally enjoyed our visit and even the food. She is a special friend.

Corina in her bright orange kitchen. 

She is so proud of her little apartment

 which she decorated herself.  Before this, she 

was living with her x-husband and son

because it was cost effective to continue those 

living arrangements even after the divorce. 

 This apartment was given to her by the government.

In the background the girls are holding up

the Ukrainian flag with a message

of love written on it.

After dinner, we had to hurry back to the Central Building for a YSA council meeting which began after the Russian Institute class at 9 p.m.  A couple of our girls had been to Ukraine on a special 'friendship' mission and brought back a Ukrainian flag and a box of chocolates.  They had taken a video with them which the council had made to give to the Ukrainian young singles. It took many miracles and several prayers for them to get into Ukraine after being detained at the border for over 4 hours and even sent back across the border. But, they finally made it and were so glad to share feelings of friendship and love with many Ukrainian young singles.

Waiting at a playground for the

rangers to come walk us

to the park.

Saturday was another first for us....we went to Elk Island with our young singles for a service project and a barbecue. Elk Island is a national nature park and home to over 200 different species of animals including deer, elk, and wild boar. It was, at one time, a favorite place of Ivan, the Terrible, to enjoy falconry and bear hunting. There is no more hunting allowed but people can arrange tours to see the animals. We went there to clean up a specific area of the park (not actually an island).  It was a mess and needed our help. We spent over an hour picking up the garbage, filling many large bags with trash.  After our hard work, we walked deeper into the preserve for a barbecue. This turned into an all day affair as we left our home at 9:15 in the morning. We finally left the park around 2:30 to make it home for Isaac's seminary lesson at 4. We were grateful to meet 6 more students on internships from BYU who came and participated with us.  It was a good day but we were both sore the next day from all the walking we did to get there and back as well as all the bending over to pick up garbage. 

Four of the six BYU students - Mitch, Cody, Brian, and Jeff

Masha and Christina stopped to pick dandy lions along the way.

They then fashioned a  hair wreath from them....an old

Russian and Ukrainian tradition.

The helping hands bibs we

put on to let people know

where we were from.

This girl literally sang as she worked.

The whole time we were working 

we could  hear her singing 

Russian songs.

The whole group and the results of our labors.

Our chefs - Corell and Dennis (pictured to the right)

And that brings us to Sunday. After our sacrament meeting, we again headed down to the South building (4 weeks in a row now) for two baptisms - Gissell's and Pierro's. These were baptisms in the International Ward. It truly is an international ward as the one baptism was done in English for Gissell and the other in French, Pierro's native language. One of the confirmations was done in Spanish, Gissell's native language, and the other in French, again for Pierro. It sure would be hard to be the bishop of that ward.

Gissell was just beaming after her baptism

Pierro with Elders Howard and Merrill waiting for

his confirmation.  The confirmations were performed

following the baptism as next Sunday is a special

stake conference featuring Elder Bednar.

LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

When we were waiting for Garrett at our metro station, this multi-talented musician was playing and singing. He played the guitar and the harmonica, as well as sang. Of course, there were people helping him collect money for his efforts.  It was one of the few times we have contributed a few rubles to an artist on the street.

It was also rush hour while we were at the metro waiting for Garret. This picture is of the people trying to enter one of the four doors into the metro building. There was a steady stream of people for the whole 15 minutes we were waiting. All these people have to go through toll gates and then file onto one escalator, hence the hang up at the entrance door. Riding the metro is not a fun place to be at this time of the day

While walking to the nature park on Saturday, we noticed this unique yard decoration.....a metal bird in a large nest.  Quite interesting.

THUS ENDS ANOTHER GREAT WEEK!

RUSSIAN VICTORY DAY AND AMERICAN MOTHER'S DAY CELEBRATED

Flags flying everywhere

Two holidays, one Russian and one American, happened this week...in fact, within two days of each other...making our week busy and quite eventful.  Let's start with one of the biggest holidays of the year here in Russia. It is Victory Day, celebrating the day of Germany's surrender to the Allied Forces in World War II.  In Europe, it is celebrated on May 8th but because Russia is many times zones away, the day of victory was actually the 9th here....hence the day set for Victory day in Russia differs from that of the European countries.  It is a really beautiful holiday which honors the military and its veterans, especially the World War II veterans. This is the day of the big military parade of troops, tanks, and airplanes in Red Square. On this day, the Red Square is totally inaccessible to anyone who is not an invited guest. Vladimir Putin was there reviewing the parade, along with many high ranking military personnel. We watched the parade on television but did see the air show from our apartment. The whole thing was quite a display of might and power. 

The Military Band

Marching in straight lines with  all heads facing to the right

Just a few of the many tanks and military equipment displayed

This picture was taken from our apartment window.

It signified the end of the parade and air show.

This is the day of much patriotism and pride in this country for its citizens. We were especially impressed with the reverence in which the veterans of World War II are held. Many of them wear their medal adorned uniforms and walk around in public places on this day. People come up to them, shake their hands, and present them with flowers.  It was a wonderful sight to see.  Another way of honoring the veterans of all wars was the wearing of orange and black ribbons. We couldn't figure out if you had to be a veteran to wear one, but many people were wearing them on this day. The orange and black ribbon signifies something about being a brave warrior.  When we were in the room of the Kremlin Palace designed for the honoring of the country's soldiers, we noticed the benches were done in the same orange and black stripe.  

The same soldier being thanked

by a total stranger. 

This veteran was carrying the many

 flowers given to him as he walked

 around the park.

The entrance to the park

We had decided to stay totally away from the Red Square area as we are obviously not Russian and we didn't want to call attention to ourselves. Instead, we visited Tsaritsyno Park where Catherine, the Great, built a palace she never lived in. In fact, at one time she had it dismantled because she didn't like the architect's work. She, then, hired another architect who never finished the project due to bad economic times and Catherine's untimely death. Several people owned it after that but it wasn't until in the 1990's that it was totally restored according the the original plans. It is situated in a huge park, part of which are the palace grounds which are amazing. Beautiful fountains, lakes, manicured forests, stone bridges, and thousands of tulips greeted us. It was a delightful day for walking, and we did a lot of it in order to see everything. We also spent some time sitting and enjoying the fountains and the people passing by. When we got ready to leave, the park was becoming very crowded so we were glad we had come early. 

The map shows how very large the park is.

Some of the tulips

Enjoying the fountains, the music and the people

The fountains

One of several bridges

The palace

More Tulips

 

This says May 9th

The next day, Saturday, we decided to walk to Red Square to get a feel for what the celebration was all about. Things were being dismantled but it was still an impressive sight with all the huge banners hanging around the square. We walked to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and were amazed at the great number of flowers that had been laid all around the tomb, as well as along the pathways leading to the tomb....another sign of the great reverence these people have for their warriors.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Now for Mother's Day......

Of course the best thing was talking with each of our children. That is always a joy. In lieu of having family over to celebrate, we invited six of our missionaries over for a buffet of ham and  fold over rolls, mustard sauce, a fruit salad, a potato salad, vegetables and dip and chips. We wanted it to be an all American, typical Mother's day fare. These six were skyping home at 4, 5, 6 and 8 Sunday evening so we decided to set up the buffet at 7 for them all to enjoy. It was fun to talk with them after they had talked with their families.  They were so excited to have had that opportunity. Missionaries skyping home at our apartment actually started Saturday at 4 when the International sisters came to our apartment.  The East Zone leaders then came at 8:30 Sunday morning. We are glad we could help them get in contact with family.

Enjoying a quite minute to visit after dinner

A flower from the sisters and a homemade

card from the elders.  So sweet.

Also on Sunday, we squeezed in another sacrament meeting to hear one of our young single adults give her farewell talk before leaving for her mission.  Inessa was one of our Institute/Pathway students who opted to put in her mission papers instead of continuing her online education with BYU Idaho. Good choice as she will make a fantastic missionary. She is going to the St. Petersburg Mission, but first, she will be in Madrid, Spain for her MTC experience. 



Other than these two holidays, our week was pretty uneventful.  Monday we did our last apartment check for the quarter. Tuesday was a Zone training meeting which was very well done. We especially liked when each missionary was asked to share a mission miracle. Lots of miracles are happening here in the mission field. It was wonderful to be reminded that this is the Lord's work and he provides ways for it to get done. 


Wednesday was English group and Thursday was Institute and Gathering. Our lesson was on Alma's counsel to his sons.  We used the late Dean Conrad's 'Satan's Ball Court' concept.  He always talked about staying out of Satan's ball court by living the standards of the church.  We used that same idea as we discussed Alma's advice to his son Corianton on how to avoid Satan's temptations. We think it was effective.

LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT

Canned applesauce is hard to find so this week I made my own. I wanted to make an applesauce cake so I peeled, sliced, cooked and blended the apples for a pretty good applesauce.  It doesn't compare to applesauce made with Utah apples but it made a good applesauce cake.

All over Moscow, we see these signs saying I Love Moscow.  We decided to take a picture in front of one as we, too, love Moscow.

When we walked to the Red Square on Saturday, we saw these men dismantling the grandstands.  We were concerned for the safety of the workers as they had taken no safety precautions that we could see.  It is a mighty hard cobblestone road below them.

A GREAT WEEK OF LEARNING

ABOUT RUSSIAN CULTURE AND TRADITIONS