We'll begin with Monday. We rose real early to meet the Jensen's at the Sokol metro station. We needed to have them to the church service center by 8:30 in the morning. The Jensens are on a three month visa plan and so they have to have a second passport to leave and re-enter Russia every three months. We met with someone at the service center who would take their passports to the U.S. embassy to get the second passport application started. When that was complete, we jumped on a bus to take us to the mission office so the Jensens could get all their immigration papers in order. It was also a time for the office people to train them as to mission policy and procedure. They ended their time in the mission office with a visit with the mission president. From there we jumped on the metro to take the Jensens to Ashan's to show them the best store for large grocery purchases. It was then home for dinner. We had invited the Goodells, the area CES senior couple, to come so the two couples could have a chance to get to know each other. We served spaghetti,using a sauce we had frozen earlier so it was an easy dinner to fix. Soon after dinner everyone left as the Jensen's were wiped out.
Tuesday was our last full day for training so we packed a lot into the day. It was the time to make sure they understood all about the Pathway program which they would be facilitating. Sister Jensen took copious notes which was a good thing because Elder Jensens back was bothering him so he laid down on the couch and quickly fell asleep. Oh, how we remember how tired we were the first week we arrived. 
In the late afternoon we took them to the Metropolis Mall so they could get a first hand look at Stockman's, the grocery store that specializes in many American imports.....a must place to know about. We had a quick dinner at Shake Shack and then it was back home so the Jensen's could rest before going to an 8:30 YSA planning meeting at the church. We accompanied them to the church but left before the meeting started as we had to get started packing. Before we left, the young singles presented us with a wooden box into which they had put pictures and notes from many of them.....a priceless gift. Our coordinator's wife gave us a suitcase cover so whenever we travel people will know we had spent some time in Russia. Don't know if we will ever use it but it was a thoughtful gift. |
| The precious box of messages and pictures and the very Russian suitcase cover. |
Wednesday morning was cleaning time, although we had done most of it prior to the Jensens coming. I couldn't sleep Tuesday night so I was up cleaning the oven in the middle of the night which was a good thing because the Jensen arrived much earlier than expected Wednesday morning. We shared our last lunch in Russia with the Jensen at Glow Subs after which we said our goodbyes. As the Jensen's left, I looked at Paul and said, "We're done!"....and started immediately to cry. It is hard to leave that which we have come to love doing. We walked to the church to await our ride with President and Sister Borders to their home where we would be spending the night. There was a zone conference taking place and, at the end, we were asked to bear our testimonies once again and more tears were shed, of course.
 |
We admire this special couple.
They work so hard.
|
After a two hour drive through Moscow, we arrived at the President's home. The traffic was horrible. After the first hour in the car, we were only a 15 minute walk from our apartment. We were so glad we did not have to drive in Moscow. The President and his wife took us to dinner at the restaurant in their development and then, after a short visit, we were ready to go to bed. We needed to be up bright and early to make it to the airport.
Thursday, after breakfast with the Borders, the mission driver took us to the airport. It was all pretty uneventful, which is a good thing when dealing with foreign travel. We boarded the plane, flew to New York, had a 5 hour layover and, after three gate changes, finally boarded our plane for Salt Lake City. We arrived at 11:30 at night and were surprised to see all our Utah family there to greet us. They had flowers for me, chocolate covered fruit for Paul, and a sign welcoming home Grandma and Grandpa. It was thrilling to see them all standing there after being away from them for 18 months. After lots of hugs and kisses, and collecting our bags,Todd and Kailee drove us to their new home to spend the night. We wanted to drive into Heber Valley in the light of day as well as see Todd and Kailee's new home in Pleasant Grove.
 |
The driver just left us outside the airport
in the cold wind and rain so Paul had to
find luggage carts for all our bags.
|
 |
| Bags inside, marked, and ready to be checked. |
 |
The Welcoming Committee - our whole Utah family!
|
 |
Happy to to home!
|
Friday, we were up bright and early to travel the canyon up to our home in Heber. It was such a surreal experience to be driving again and seeing all the things that were so familiar to us. It was like the 18 months had only been a few days as we drove into our neighborhood and back home. We did, though, have to remind ourselves how to do certain things like change the car radio from AM to FM and work the heat/air conditioning in the car. Strange how things that we did automatically before we left were now a challenge, having not done them for a year and a half. Our neighborhood had changed a bit with several new homes having been built while we were gone. As we drove into our driveway, we were glad to be back. When we walked into our home, we immediately remembered why we loved living here. We felt right at home. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and getting reacquainted with our old way of life. We were so grateful for Todd and Kailee and how well they kept up our home. It was just as we had left it. As we were unpacking, we had a welcomed visit from our bishop, Bishop Baird. He sat and visited with us for over an hour, us talking about our mission and him bringing us up to date on the ward.
We ate out for both lunch and dinner, going to the places we have craved the most....Subway for lunch (there were Subways in Russia but they used cabbage instead of lettuce and the sandwiches didn't taste the same.) and Cafe Rio for dinner (there were Mexican restaurants in Russia too, but there is no taste like Cafe Rio's sweet pork anywhere in the world.)
We arrived home just in time for the start of two of our grandson's basketball seasons and a baptism of another grandson. We spent Saturday at two basketball games - one in the morning for Braydon and one in the evening for Jaron. It was just like old times to be in the gym cheering them on. So fun.  |
Gavin and his older brother Taylor
|
The baptism was a special event. Gavin was not baptized when he was 8 because of circumstances in his family. He had been taking the missionary discussions for several months and decided to be baptized on the Saturday after our arrival home. He was baptized by his older brother, Taylor. Jaron was advanced to the office of a teacher and Braydon was ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood. This was all such an answer to many prayers, and a mission blessing. We have been praying for this family for 18 months to become active in the church and that had happened. So thankful.
Sunday, we attended church in our home ward. We received a wonderful welcome from all our ward friends. Most were unaware that we were coming home, so it was a surprise to many of them when we walked into the chapel. We had our missionary badges on as we had not been released yet. Immediately following sacrament meeting, we met with the Stake President who released us after a short visit about our mission. It was strange to take off those badges and know you wouldn't put them on again. A little sad.
A friend from another ward came out into the foyer when she saw us to tell us something special. She thanked us for our mission service and for this blog. She said she and her husband lived their dream mission through us by reading our blog faithfully each week. She and her husband love Russia and longed to serve a mission there but health will prevent them from serving outside the United States. Our blog became very important to them. We were touched. Later, in the afternoon, we had our family up for a pot roast dinner...something we had been craving for 18 months. In Russia, the beef roasts were not worth buying as they were very tough, no matter how long you cooked them. We were so tired by the end of the day, but happy to be home.
And thus ends our mission and our mission blog. A bittersweet experience to say good bye to Russia and our mission. It has been a glorious 18 months serving the Lord and spreading His wonderful message to His children in Moscow. We will forever be grateful for that time in our lives.
LIVING IN RUSSIA SPOTLIGHT
The last spotlight of our life in Russia must be about the metro system, one of the largest in the world and truly the most spectacular. It was built to be 'the people's palace' and as we visited many of the stations it was easy to see why it was aptly named. During the Soviet era, it became one of Stalin's shining achievements. It was seen as a way to showcase the ideals of socialism. In fact, all of the decor had to represent the way of life the government wanted the people to believe Soviet life was like. Most of the stations depict the 1917 Revolution, national defense, or the 'Soviet way of life." Many kinds of marble, in varying designs, were used in the stations as were stone mosaics, stained glass pictures, statues, and extravagant lighting fixtures. Each station is different and many are art masterpieces. According to statistics, more people ride the Moscow Metro than the New York Subway and the London Underground combined. It is estimated that close to 8 million people ride the Metro each weekday. We believe that as we experienced rush hour many times.
 |
One of several ceiling mosaics
|
AS WE SAY GOOD BYE TO RUSSIA,
WE THANK YOU FOR SHARING OUR MISSION WITH US.
WE THANK YOU FOR SHARING OUR MISSION WITH US.
No comments:
Post a Comment