Welcome to our Christmas celebration in Russia.  Elders Wimber and Holbrook were so kind to invite Elder Pocock and I to have lunch with them on Christmas Eve afternoon. They had heard of a great Italian/Japanese restaurant and we decided to give it a try.  So good and soooo reasonable!  Notice the size of the portions...Russian restaurants serve very healthy size portions...no super sizing here, not even in MacDonalds!

Our packages don't go directly to our apartments...in fact, we've never seen a mailman!  Not sure how the rest of Perm gets their mail, but all missionary mail goes to the mission home in Yekaterinburg and our zone leaders bring it back to Perm when they return from their monthly zone leader council.  So if a package doesn't reach the mission home before zone leader council...it sits at the mission home for a month!  This is what happened with our sisters' Christmas packages.  So as a zone, we decided that we would put together a Christmas box for the sisters.  The elders were so generous and thoughtful, many sharing some of their gifts from home...it added that special spirit of giving to our Christmas.  Elder Pocock played Grandfather Frost and we left the mystery package at their door.  It was so fun to listen to their squeals of delight when they opened the door and saw the package addressed to them!

Our wonderful sister missionaries...Sister Galli (L) from Georgia and Sister Tikhanova from Irkutsk, Russia.  It is always 20 degrees colder there than here in Perm!

Our Christmas morning started early (at 6:45 a.m.) with missionaries Skyping their families.  Our kitchen was a blur of activity as each companionship worked on their contribution to the meal.  Our zone leaders, Elders Duggar and Prestwich are busy making the rolls, and the sisters are creating an artistic veggie tray!

Here's our new zone gathered around the Christmas dinner table.  We had ham (couldn't find a traditional spiral ham or anything like it, but we found something that was very tasty)  cheesy potatoes, rolls, Elders Christiansen and Kaiser made a yummy chicken salad, and Elders Holbrook and Wimber provided delicious brownies to go along with my pumpkin pie plus the rolls and veggie platter.  We certainly didn't lack for things to eat!!!

It was a wonderful day where ten missionaries truly bonded as family.  Oh, we missed our loved ones at home...but celebrated having one another to share this holy holiday.

After dinner, we jumped into a service project.  Here some of the zone is busily threading popcorn for a tree garland.

Elders Christiansen (L) and Holbrook are tying ribbon on salt dough ornaments that the young adults painted earlier.  The garland and ornaments are for a tree to be given to a needy family.  You may think...wait it's already Christmas...what good are the decorations now?!  Remember, the Russian Christmas isn't until January 7 and they don't put up their trees until close to their New Year's eve celebration when Grandfather Frost comes.  Our celebrations just keep on going over here!

We gave every companionship a large jar of peanut butter...found it at the Metro.  Goodies galore...not that we need them, but we needed them!!!  Great comfort food.

After we finished with the tree decorations, we played some really fun interactive games and then watched The Nativity and several Bible videos off the internet.  Before we knew it, it was time to head to the branch for the annual Christmas party.  Our branch choir sang two Christmas numbers.  They really sing from the heart.

The Branch President's wife, Yulia and their little gals sang a beautiful song, part in Russian...part in English.  It was so well done and so touching.

This is a pano of the hall that is decorated beautifully and shows the great turnout for the lovely evening.  The program started out with President Monson's First Presidency Christmas message. We talked with the Relief Society sisters in the kitchen and they said that they fed approximately 80 people...that is just a few less than we have at church on Sunday!  They hadn't planned on that many attending but they felt that it was like feeding the 5,000...somehow there was enough for everyone!
This was a perfect way to end our Christmas celebration...mingling with the amazing saints from the Perm branch.

On a previous blog, we showed the stockings that we created for the branch members to sign for the missionaries and servicemen.  When we went to pick up the stockings to mail them...we found that the families had added goodies and gifts to be sent along with the stockings.  So we solicited the help of our zone leaders and dear sweet Lubov, her son is one of the servicemen.  They came to the post office with us to help mail the packages.  We wish all those away from home a very happy holiday season.

While we were waiting in the forever lines in the post office, Elder Pocock snapped pictures of the women in fur coats.  The following pictures show just a few of those we saw.  I would say that 50% of all the women's coats in Perm are fur of some kind.  They are beautiful.

I have to say that I love my long, goose-down filled coat.  It is perfect for the cold weather here, but when we are visiting inside of an apartment or a store...it gets sooooo unbearably warm.  A sister in the branch said that she loves her fur coat because it breathes with you...it's warm but never too warm.

On December 27, we had the most humbly experience.  We went with Elders Duggar and Prestwich to visit a family in their area.  We had to ride the bus for some time and then we literally hiked up and down several hills in about a foot of snow.  It was a beautiful night, not terribly cold because it had just snowed a great deal.  There was a full moon and the snow glistened from the glow.

Meet Laressa, the daughter, Lubova (age 8); under the covers is the son, Yarick (age 10) and the father, Alexei.  We had never met the mother...she is paralyzed from the waist down and can't get to church.  A beautiful young woman!  Lubova and Yarick come to church often.  Laressa and her son Yarick, are members.  Lubova just turned eight and was to be baptized this past Saturday, but her father had to work and wanted to attend.  We asked if we could go with the missionaries to meet Laressa and extend some love and attention to this little family.

Lubova is a very outgoing little gal.  She did a dance for us and told us that she wants to perform it after her baptism.  The branch is trying to figure out a way for Laressa to get to Lubova's baptism.  Now with all of the new snow... it is really going to be difficult.  We are hoping that something can be worked out.

Laressa has been bed-ridden for three years.  She has a wheelchair, but has to have help to get in it.  She was so vibrant...she asked many questions about our life, about America, about our family, about what we thought about this and that, how we celebrated the holidays, and on and on.  We could tell that she yearns to have people to communicate with. I am sure that she gets very lonely...we will definitely get back to see this little family SOON. The missionaries have been very attentive to them.

We took the children gifts and sugar cookies to frost and decorate.  It was so fun to be a part of their excitement.  One simple gift that we gave them was the Children's Book of Mormon Reader. Laressa was thrilled beyond measure.  She said that she so wants to read the stories of the Book of Mormon to her children, and she feels that this will help keep their attention.  When we walked out of their home that night, I thanked my Heavenly Father for a very sweet, spiritual experience. Indeed life is not fair...but it is what we do with what is allotted to us that determines who we really are!

Our dear friend, Tanya, the avid ice skater...invited us to go to a holiday ice skating performance.  The guests skaters were Perms very own 2012 European Silver Medal Champions...Vera Bazarova (age 19) and Yuri Larlonov (age 26).  They trained here in Perm until just recently.  They are amazing.  It will be very fun to watch them in the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  (She had the most elegant, white fur coat!)

 They were totally amazing.  It was thrilling to sit on the front row and watch their incredible routine.  Young students from the skating academy in Perm performed as well.  You can already tell that there are budding olympians here in Perm.  This was all offered free to the public.

Afterwards, we accompanied Tanya, her grandmother and friend to the outdoor skating rink where Tanya skates everyday.  She just recently saved up enough to purchase new professional ice skates.

She gave us her own performance.  Way to go, Tanya!  Tanya is the English teacher that had invited us to do a presentation for her classes at the Police Lyceum.

It's beginning to look a lot like WINTER!

For those of you who have been following the evolution of our poor steps...here is how they look now. Believe me, we hang on to the railing.

In order to make a pathway to our apartment...our skating rink is getting piled high with snow!

One day later...it is three times higher!  When we came home from church today, children were digging tunnels in the snow and loving it.  We yelled to them: "Snov-em Go-dem" (written phonetically) which means Happy New Year in Russian...to our surprise they yelled back, "Happy New Year!"

There isn't much decorating for the holidays here...at least not in our area...so we were delighted to watch this from our kitchen window.  There is a little fir tree by the apartment across the way, and there a grandmother, mother and little boy took the initiative to decorate and brighten many neighbor's lives.

Yulia's little sister has been wanting to come to our apartment for some time...so we decided to have a cookie fest!  We cut out and baked sugar cookies and she frosted and decorated to her hearts desire.  Yulia said this was a first for both of them...we had a great time.

...and while we were celebrating the holidays here, some of our family celebrated at Temple Square.  Wherever you are this time of year...hope your holidays have been meaningful and memorable.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas, 2012!!!   Just before Christmas, we have lost three of our missionaries to transfers...Sister Robins, Elders Cook and Riddle.  We miss them and wish them the very best in their new location.  We now welcome Sister Galli, Elders Christiansen and Prestwich.  It is now our Christmas...the missionaries have been here since 6:45 a.m. skyping with their families.  It is so fun to hear their excited voices and their laughter...it brings back great memories of when we talked with our daughter missionaries!  We are so grateful that we can assist these young people to talk with their families on Christmas Day.  More pictures of our Zone's Christmas to come.

We are dedicating this blog post to our sweet dog, Taylor, who had to be put down this last week.  She lived a long, wonderful life (13 years worth)  She was such a great companion...so loyal, so meek, so wanting to please.  We worried that she would feel abandoned when we left for our mission, but our daughter, Emily, and her family have given her the greatest last year of her life!  A special thank you to them for their loving care. We love you, Taylor!

This is a view from our sixth floor showing how our entryway has literally turned into an ice skating rink with a pile of snow in the middle!

We have a new morning routine...climbing the stairs.  We decided that we need more consistent exercise.  Now that it is so cold, we burn a lot of calories just keeping warm...but we can tell that our
muscles are missing the daily workout at the gym!

This is a view of the same ice skating rink but from the 19th floor!

The branch tries to have an activity every Saturday.  Its purpose is to give the members reason to gather and strengthen one another.  Because so many of them are the only members in their family...they need
this opportunity to build on their relationships, to share their talents, to feel the great bond that membership can provide.  The next nine pictures are of participants in a talent night that was held this past week.  The eight smaller pictures are of 5 members and 3 non-members that love to write poetry.  We had a missionary translate for us and it was so amazing how many of these sweet people write about spiritual things.  In the Russian language, many of the words are in a different order in their sentence structure than we are used to...but it is almost as if they speak in a poetic form.  It makes me wonder if that is why so many are good at expressing themselves in poetry.  From top to bottom...Al, an eternal investigator but a great young man; Nina, my dear friend that crochets me many gifts; Andre', a sincere and unbelievably committed member; Valentina, another ongoing investigator that we just love. She plays the piano, taught the class on Christmas decor with me, has more energy than anyone her age!  Next is Ganadi, a humble man that always feeds us when we visit (even though we tell him not to!) He makes the best cakes!!!; another Valentina, who is involved in everything...gives her all to her callings and fellow branch members; Ludmilla, a counselor in the Relief Society, who is the only member but has been able to create a balance with her family and they support her in her beliefs; next is a non member that I am sorry to say I can't remember her name, but she came to church following this event and stayed the entire block.

The elderly couple with the accordion were invited guests.  They were so much fun to watch.  They sang and played Russian songs and everyone sang along.  Wish you can get a feel for how cute and talented this couple is.

Christmas decor from home...homemade garland draped from our lights, Elder and Sister Missionary stockings filled with goodies, and a felt Christmas tree with pictures of every family member as the ornaments!  A special thank you to our sweet daughters, their husbands, and our grandchildren for all  the precious and thoughtful gifts of love.

As we were out and about in the stores...we ran across an amazing little shop that makes everything imaginable in CHOCOLATE!  This Grandfather Frost is at least 3' tall!!!  How would you like that under your tree?  This definitely was a store with ideas for the person who needs nothing and loves everything chocolate.

Because so much of the year is COLD weather...the Russians make the most of it!  They participate in
a wide variety of winter activities.  Not far from our apartment is Gorky Park.  We have posted many pictures of this fun amusement park during various seasons.  On the way to meetings, we always go through the park for a short cut.  This day we saw a lot of activity.  Behind the park is the huge outdoor skating rink.  Here we see the water truck smoothing the ice.

This view gives you a feel for the enormity of this field...you can see the bleachers in the distance...the ice rink on the inside and around the edges is snow for cross country skiing exercise.  In the summer, soccer games are going constantly!

Here you see one of Russia's biggest winter commodities...ICE!

As we were walking through the park...suddenly a diesel truck drives up loaded with ... more ice!

You might ask...what do they do with that?  Well, here you can see them unloading the huge blocks of ice as they prepare an ice slide (on the left).  The children have the greatest time on the slides.

The workers are putting the blocks together.  It is easy to connect them because all you have to do is pour water in the seams and literally wait seconds and it is frozen solid...never to separate
again until Spring!

In the center of Perm, they are putting together an "Ice City".  When we arrived last year in February, they were dismantling the ice sculptures...so we are excited to see the completed project.  We will be sure to share on future blogs. Here you get a feel for the complicated efforts involved in putting something like this together.

The projected "Coldest Winter in Fifty Years" is blasting us.  We snapped a picture of us waiting at the bus stop...it's cold!!!

Family Home Evening this past week, was a "Night of Traditions".  This pano shows the kids eating around the table and sharing their family traditions.  We don't want to impose our American traditions on the youth...and we are really very interested in learning what they do in their families, so it turned out to be a wonderful night of sharing.  Many of them do have special memories of their childhood and continue to stay close to extended family members. One young woman goes on an extended vacation with her grandmother every summer...some told of their favorite foods they prepare during the holidays.  Others aren't as fortunate.  One young man spoke of how his family doesn't connect..for holidays they eat and drink.  We could tell that he ached to enjoy some of the things his peers enjoyed.  Another young man and his sister are orphans.  They told of growing up in the orphanage and how at least the system provided them consistency and they always had one present under the tree. I fixed a big dinner...many of the youth come to FHE directly from their work...so they are grateful for a hot meal! One young man commented upon leaving..."tonight I felt a very homey atmosphere, filled with love." That is what this mission is all about!

We showed the youth the memory cards that our children made for us to open each day of December. We told of how wonderful it was to relive the memories we've had with our children and grand-
children.  We encouraged them to set a goal to create lasting memories for THEIR CHILDREN...even if their families don't have special times together, they can plan now to create traditions for families of their own.  At the end of the evening, we passed out a candle for everyone.  We stood in a circle and lit the first candle.  That person turned to the next...lit their candle and shared a New Year's wish for them and it continued on around the circle until all the candles were lit and everyone received a wish for the coming year. (Thanks to Zach's family for a shared tradition)  We pray for these young people and their futures.

One of our young men works out in the harsh weather.  As he was leaving, Kent and another young man helped to polish and waterproof his boots.  Our little group really does care deeply for one another!

With Christmas just a couple days away, we baked another pumpkin!  This is a very different looking pumpkin squash...but as you can see the center is a deep orange.  We cleaned it out...baked it...and removed the cooked pulp.  I did just as I did for Thanksgiving...made a huge 9x13 pie!  I must admit
this was the tastiest pumpkin pie I have ever made.  Hooray for winter squash.  Where there is a will, there is a way!

A long bus ride took us to Elya and Sasha's apartment.  Elya is a young gal who works so much that she can't come to our FHE activities.  She has a wonderful mother that struggles with life.  Ellia loves her younger brothers Sasha, shown (12) and Andre' (8) playing outside.  The elders left a beautiful message of hope coupled with responsibility in teaching children about God.  I made my grandmother's infamous sugar cookies and decorated them with jello colored/flavored icing (can't find food coloring!) and sprinkled with fun sparkles.  The boys were sooooo excited to taste them!  I love Elya so much...just wish I could help shoulder her load! 

Elder Pocock and I made stockings of lightweight poster board, decorated them and put them out for the branch to sign.  There is one for each of our three missionaries (two in St. Petersburg...the other in Leeds, England) and our two young men in the army.  At first the branch didn't quite know what to think but it quickly caught on and in no time the stockings were filled with warm Christmas and New Year's wishes.  Well, my early morning blogging got interrupted and it is now our day after Christmas...but it is still your Christmas night.  You all should be tucked in after enjoying all the celebrations. Thank you for all of your sweet Christmas greetings...we will post our Christmas day experience right away!  Remember we are still celebrating here in Russia because Grandfather Frost comes on New Year's Eve and Christmas Day is on January 7th.